Time Will Tell
by staceyyyy
Summary: AU. Several chance meetings lead to a memorable beginning. Fate is tricky like that.
1. The First Few Times They First Met

**Disclaimer - I do not own Arrow. **

_**Twenty years ago. **_

They would never actually remember the first time they had met. It was a fleeting moment in a child's memory that would forever be forgotten.

The Starling City Central Park was huge and it was rare to find only two children on the playground, but neither noticed the absence of other kids. He had watched the little girl play in the sand box as he swung on the swings, with her being completely absorbed in the task at hand.

Her parents were passing through town on the way to East Coast, and had stopped to visit her aunt that lived in the city. They had decided that today was the perfect day to spend at the park and have a picnic, letting her explore the sand box while she was under their watchful and loving gaze.

Unbeknownst to her, he watched her unruly hair get in her face and was amused at the way she kept on brushing it out of her eyes with a frustrated sigh each time, all the while thinking that girls were stupid for having long hair as it would always get in the way of trying to play. Even if her hair was yellow like the sun.

He turned his head away from the little girl as he noticed his mother coming down the foot path after meeting his dad at the office to join him and Raisa, their housekeeper, taking out a loaf of bread from her bag.

He had walked up to her that day, startling the three year old out of her thoughts and the deep concentration that she was in from building sand castles as he offered to feed the ducks with him.

Neither would remember this day, but it was the beginning of something neither would have expected.

_**Seventeen years ago.**_

Though they had never actually spoken to each other at this particular meeting, fate had brought them again to the exact same place at the exact same time.

She was in the hospital for a check up on her recently broken arm. He was there for an annual flu shot.

They sat at opposite ends of the children's ward with the doctor prodding at her arm as she silently cried from the pain, and him trying to hold his tears at bay as the nurse got steadily closer with the needle. He tried acting like a big boy, not wanting to be seen as a child but the tears came unbidden anyway.

Oliver sat in the chair and tried to concentrate on anything else other than the needle that was about to be stabbed into his arm when the girl sitting across the room from him caught his attention. He thinks he's seen her before but can't seem to place her in his haze of childhood memories.

He tries to focus on her instead of what is about to happen, though the attempt becomes unsuccessful as the nurse blocks his view when she stands in front of him.

When the nurse is done with his arm and steps away the little girl with the yellow hair is already gone.

_**Eleven years ago. **_

Destiny brought them together once again, though under completely different and tragic circumstances.

They were at the same cemetery, though at two different burial plots.

He was holding his girlfriend as she cried into his arms over the loss of her best friend, while Felicity cried into the arms of her aunt as she buried her parents after losing them in a car accident.

Over his girlfriends head he saw a blond crying into the arms of an older woman and he was almost winded with the amount of pain she radiated, even from this distance.

He watched as her whole body shuddered and wracked from the sobs coming from her.

He watched as her blonde hair cascaded down her back in waves, all the while holding onto his own girlfriend tighter as she pressed herself closer to him. Seeking comfort from the grief of her own loss.

He watched until her friends and relatives obstructed his view as they pulled her away from the now freshly covered graves.

_**Five years ago. **_

Her first day of college.

He had just helped his little sister move into her dorm when he saw the vaguely familiar blonde seated in the campus café, surrounded by a group of what appeared to be freshmen.

The sun seemed to shine just on her, as her hair stood out bright among the masses of people around her. As if it was sunshine itself.

He wasn't sure where he had seen her before but he wasn't allowed to dwell on the fact too much as his little sister urged him along towards the waiting car and their parents.

Thea's excited ramblings and his tired mind and body worked quickly to make him forget the blonde he had seen in the café.

_**Three years ago. **_

He had been clubbing with his best friend Tommy Merlyn the next time fate had struck.

She had been dragged to go clubbing by her dorm roommate.

And Sarah was not someone to be argued with, the girl had a mean stare and an even meaner right hook. So Felicity endured the makeover for the night, not even bothering to argue over the skin tight red dress that Sarah had forced onto her, choosing to pick her battles and save her energy for what appeared to be a long night ahead.

She loved Sarah but there was just no getting through to her that she was not a party animal. She would so much rather stay on their worn out couch watching reruns of Doctor Who and getting more acquainted with two very close friends of hers named Ben and Jerry. If after two and a half years of living together Sarah didn't get the message, Felicity doubted she ever would.

And so she dressed up, danced and drank as Sarah expected her to. She even found that she had fun. There was no other option with Sarah, she was the life of the party in any room that she walked into, and living with her had always been entertaining.

It was thanks to Sarah that Felicity started to open up in college.

So that was how Oliver had found her with his eyes, in his far from sober state.

It was hard not to notice the blonde dancing seductively in her daring red dress on the dance floor, as he watched from the VIP lounge area above.

Being too intoxicated to even consider getting up and move away from the brunette firmly planted at his side, he just sat and observed her move to the rhythm of the music until the crowd eventually swallowed the vision of her up and she blended into the masses of dancing bodies.

_**Present Day.**_

Fate had finally decided it was time for them to properly meet. Though not in a way that either of them expected.

In the lobby of Queen Consolidated a girl hastened towards the direction of the elevators, her arms full of neatly stacked papers and reports. Everything carefully placed and sorted into the perfect order.

Fate wasn't on her side that day. When she had first woken up this morning she had gotten the feeling that she shouldn't get out of bed.

As the elevator doors opened and in her rush to get inside she collided with a firm body, pushing her back and her arms forward in a futile attempt to steady herself on the heels that Sarah had made her wear that day.

No matter how many times she tried to convince Sarah that the heels would have absolutely no impact on the interview for a new job in Queen Consolidated, Sarah had not budged. She was trying to get into the IT department for God's sake; nobody cares how anybody else looks in IT. But arguing with Sarah was fruitless as always.

So here she was, with her new heels, on her knees in the middle of the Queen Consolidated lobby, trying to pick up the scattered papers around her. She had not even bothered to look up at the man she had collided with, who was thankfully trying to help her pick up said papers.

"I'm so sorry! I'm just in a rush because I have a really important job interview in IT in five minutes and clearly fate hates me right now. I just heard that its kind of a great company to work for and clearly you don't need me telling you that as you obviously work here and you know how great it is. And I don't even know how they could possibly turn me down anyway! What with my hacking and IT skills…NOT that I ever hack anything, ever. Because that's illegal. But my IT skills are amazing, like off the charts to the point that my professor's kept on trying to figure out how I was cheating because my test scores were off the charts. Seriously its not my fault half of them wouldn't know a code if danced in front of them naked. Argh that was inappropriate, sorry. So yes. You clearly didn't need to hear me babble all of that so I'll stop in three, two, one…"

She finally looked up at him, her face crimson from embarrassment as she tried to raise herself up off the floor in the least embarrassing way possible in a pencil skirt and heels.

What she didn't expect was to meet the gaze of one of the most attractive men she had ever seen. That face should be illegal. And his immaculately fitted suit.

He had a smile on his face from her ramblings, that did nothing to stop her erratically beating heart, as he looked between her and the older man standing to his right side.

"Anyway, I am so sorry again for stampeding all over you, and thank you for your assistance, and I'll just be going now…"

She was backing away in the direction of the elevators as she talked but he didn't want to see her disappear just yet. At least not without getting her name first.

"No worries, I forgot to introduce myself with all the commotion, my name is Oliver Queen".

He watched as her jaw drops, observing her face as the wheels turned in her head.

In the back of her mind she registers that she has just made a complete fool of herself in front of Oliver Queen.

The man who owns the very building she's standing in.

The man who she hoped would be her boss.

His last name was probably plastered on all of their stationery.

For the love of….What had she done to deserve this?

Her mind drifted to all the word vomit that had just come out of her mouth, hoping the world would just swallow her up whole right now and save her any further embarrassment.

But the torture didn't end there.

She watched as he turned to the man at his side, both sharing the same amused expression.

"And also meet my father, Robert Queen".

Nope. She should have gone with her gut instinct. She shouldn't have even gotten out of bed this morning at all.

"Oh God" was all she managed to whisper.

Maybe she should just cut her loses and forget about the interview. Flee the building while she still had some semblance of sanity left? Surely no one would remember her the next day?

But the decision was made for her before her flight instinct kicked in when Robert Queen took her by the elbow and led her to the elevators, in what would seem to be an attempt to save the poor girl in front of him from the scene that had just played out before his eyes.

He had never seen someone look so genuinely shell shocked and embarrassed before. It was refreshing amongst all the false faces that he dealt with on a daily basis.

"I do think we'll need to show you the way to the IT department for your interview Miss….?"

"Smoak, Felicity Smoak" she whispered as she clutched her papers tightly to her chest as if they were the only thing holding her together. Either that or to stop her from saying anything else.

"Miss Smoak then. And then maybe you can show us those amazing hacking skills that you speak of?" his grin steadily growing wider as he took in her horrified expression.

"Oliver? Are you coming?"

Oliver threw a silent nod in his father direction and proceeded to trail behind them, trying to place the strangely familiar face of the girl currently being led by his father in front of him.

**So I hope you like the first chapter! I need a break from the angst on the show so this was created. **

**As always please review and let me know if you love/hate/like everything or anything in the story. **

**Stay safe - love to all - Stace**


	2. Unexpected Turn Of Events

**Disclaimer - i do not own Arrow. **

Felicity was the first ever employee of Queen Consolidated to be escorted to her interview by the two heads of the company.

And it wasn't that she didn't appreciated the sentiment, it was more the fact that she was absolutely mortified by the scene that had just played out in the lobby.

She could admit to herself that she was more than a little intimidated by the two immaculately dressed males next to her, and thoughts of what was about to happen raced through her mind.

As always, life never goes as expected, because for the life of her she would never have predicted what happened next.

She was bereft of a choice as she was guided out of the elevator on the twenty second level, allowing only a few seconds for her to take in her surroundings of a dimly lit, modern hallway. It was all white walls and black and stainless steel furnishings and she vaguely thought that she had never seen a fancier office in her life. If this is what the IT department looked like, she couldn't even imagine what the corporate offices looked like.

Robert Queen guided her to what seemed to be the main office, bypassing the secretary without even a glance in her direction, opening the door and stepping inside without so much as a knock.

Felicity only just managed to read the label 'Peter Scott, Head of IT Department' on the door.

The man inside stood up abruptly at the intruder but swallowed his words as soon as he saw just who had entered his office.

"Mr. Queen, what an unexpected surprise" though his tone suggested a hint of caution at the sudden appearance of his boss.

Felicity was only grateful that the man did actually seem to be working as she took in all the papers scattered around his desk of what appeared to be reports.

She did hate walking into rooms without knocking first. Almost as much as she hated finding files and pictures that really shouldn't be on a persons computer when people asked her to repair it for them.

"My day has been full of surprises Mr. Scott, one of which I have brought here with me".

He gestured to Felicity at that and then turned to face her.

"Miss Smoak, who was your interview supposed to be with today?" his voice turned a shade softer as he addressed her.

"Damon Cole, Sir" she surprised herself that she remembered the name, at the moment she'd be hard pressed to even recall her own name.

Why did this have to be happening? Not for the first time in the past fifteen minutes she contemplated on what she had done in her life to deserve all of this.

"Scott, can you send in Mr. Cole?" Robert directed the request at the man standing behind his desk, though it was more of a demand than an actual question at this point.

Felicity watched as Mr. Scott picked up the receiver of his phone and dialed what she guessed to be was Mr. Cole's number. After he gruffly demanded for the other man to come to his office immediately he gestured to all the occupants in the room to have a seat, he himself only sitting down after everyone was seated.

Not two minutes later a balding man scurried into the office.

"Mr. Cole I presume?" Robert spoke as soon as the man entered the room.

The smaller man nodded but neglected to actually say anything. Felicity assumed that he, very much like her, wanted to say as little as possible in front of the other men in the room.

All three were rather imposing.

"Now Mr. Cole, I believe you were about to have an interview with Miss Smoak for a job in our company?"

Again the balding man nodded the affirmative, his eyes finally glancing to Felicity's form for the first time with a questioning gaze.

"Now I do have it on good authority that she is quite good at what she does so I wanted to see the results for myself. Scott, how is our IT security at the moment? Any issues?" he kept his voice was steady, mildly enquiring but not betraying anything.

"At the moment its top of the line. We haven't had any issues thus far that I am aware of. What seems to be the problem?"

But Robert ignored the question, turning back to the only girl in the room.

Good heavens the poor girl looked frightened.

He was never particularly fond of Scott, the other man being too cocky and conceited for his tastes. Not to mention all the gossip that flew around in the rumor mill of Queen Consolidated about the man. He had always known that sparks were needed to start a flame. So why waste a perfectly good opportunity?

He just hoped that the fire he saw in the girl earlier had not been diminished completely by her mortification in the lobby.

"Hack into the Queen Consolidated server" he directed at her.

Her eyes went wide and her mouth dropped open but that wasn't the only reaction he noticed. From the far corner he heard his son let out a cough, which he rightly presumed was meant to cover up a chuckle, and Cole just let out a whimper from the other side of the room.

Scott went unmistakably rigid, his shoulders tensing at the words and his knuckles turning white from his hand moving into a tight fist.

Interesting.

Failing to get any other reaction or movement from her he repeated his request.

"I want you to hack into the QC server and access my emails Miss Smoak, think of it as part of your interview. I presume you have the necessary equipment with you?"

She nodded her head uncertainly and he watched as with shaking fingers she took her bag into her lap and proceeded to take out her tablet. Once she had everything setup in her lap she visibly relaxed and he instantly knew that this is where she was the most comfortable.

Her rambling in the lobby of his building did what no resume could have done for her. It earned his trust, and that was extremely hard to come by. Because unlike the countless resumes that he had looked over in the past, there was no point in lying to a stranger. No gain to be had.

Skills would always be exaggerated; experience was distorted to better suit the needs of the applicant.

While her frustrated rambling as she had picked up the scattered papers around her was genuine. Truthful.

As her fingers slid across the keyboard at lightning pace he got comfortable in the seat, turning back to Scott casually.

"So how are the children?"

Unlikely as her chances were, he hoped that she would be successful.

As his father spoke, Oliver drowned out their voices to focus solely on the blonde in front of him.

She was turned away from him so he had an unobstructed view of her figure. He took in ever detail, from the bright lime green fingernails flying over the keyboard at inhuman speeds, to the locks of golden hair that sat in waves on her shoulders and draped over the back of the seat she was sitting on.

Again he couldn't help the feeling in the back of his head that he knew her from somewhere. Especially when he took in the look of concentration that she had on her face as she worked to break into the Queen Consolidated security system.

Seven and a half minutes later, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't suppress the laugh that escaped him.

"Done Mr. Queen. Your wife emailed asking if you are free for lunch today?" her voice coming off strong this time.

If it were under different circumstances she would have been almost smug. She suppressed the fist pump she was about to execute, this was definitely not the right audience.

Her voice certainly halted the conversation between the other men in the room, none of them expecting her to be done so quickly.

Robert Queen turned back to her, trying very hard to not look as impressed as he was.

"Do email her back for me and say that I will meet her at one thirty at our usual place".

The look of shock that was both on Cole's and Scott's faces was priceless. Cole's was a mixture of awe and nervousness.

Scott's was just anger and a slight slither of fear as he stared down at the still seated blonde.

Robert's suspicions just rose higher.

"Wonderful, well I do think your hired Miss Smoak. Oliver could you please see if you can organize an office for her today? One on our level perhaps?" while his questions was directed at Oliver, he watched Scott for a reaction as he said the words.

He empathized the word 'our', leaving no room for argument from the remaining members in the room that her new workstation would be eighteen floors higher than theirs.

This girl had quite literally dropped into his lap at the perfect time.

For a while now he had had growing suspicions of dealings going on behind his back within his company but he had not been able to pinpoint where the fraudulent business was coming from or who it originated from.

Today's interaction with Scott seemed to solidify those suspicions.

This fresh out of college girl could surely help with that problem. It could be her first big project as an employee of Queen Consolidated. To find, dissect and report to him whatever was going on.

She was clearly more than capable.

**Thank you to all those that have already reviewed/favourited/followed! **

**Reviews are better than chocolate ;)**

**Love to all - Stace **


	3. Close Quarters And Small Favours

**Disclaimer - I do not own Arrow. **

He really had to stop staring at her. It was getting out of hand.

He himself wasn't getting any work done because of it.

When his father instructed him to find an office on their floor for her a week ago he was elated, almost overwhelmed with relief that she would be so close to him everyday. Maybe then he would get a chance to get to know her better.

As always, he didn't think things through well enough, or at all really. And now the end result was her being just out of his reach, thoroughly absorbed in her work while all he could do was stare at her through the glass of her office.

He couldn't recall a single thing from a single document he had read that day.

With what was probably the hundredth sigh of the morning, he glanced back down at he document in front of him, trying to will the numbers to register in his brain. A futile attempt it would seem, as for the past twenty minutes all he had achieved was to read the first line.

He could not get his mind away from the blonde sitting in the office directly opposite him.

From the quirky glasses that she wore, and the adorable way she reached for the frame every couple of minutes to push them back up after they slid down her nose.

And the locks of golden hair that usually cascaded down her back.

While she usually had it up in a sensible ponytail, on days that she seemed more stressed or frustrated, she took it out from the offending elastic and he would be succumbed to watching her shake it out and weave her fingers through it.

He had lost count of the amount of times he had wanted to be the one to drag his fingers through her hair.

And the shoes that she wore.

No one could ever label her clothes as anything other than conservative. While she wore bright colors almost every day, the actual clothes were always professional. Her outfits usually consisted of dark colored tight skirts of the appropriate length, and colorful blouses that showed him absolutely no hint of cleavage.

But her shoes.

Those deathtraps that she wore every single day.

He had no words to describe the effect they had on him. They were always matching whatever outfit she was wearing that day, so more often than not they were bright.

But they were always high enough to be made for sin, at least they were in his very experienced opinion.

They always made her legs look endless, and when she crossed her legs at the ankles, well, his concentration was lost to just about everything else around him. People, documents, everything be damned. Hell an earthquake could go off around him and he wouldn't notice.

Seriously, it was becoming a problem. He thanked every deity in the heavens that she was never present at meetings. Meetings in which his head needed to be in the game for.

His father had given him a brief overview of what she would be doing in the company, sifting out every single employee and transaction until she found anything unsanctioned.

He hadn't been given any specific details, and he didn't ask for them, grateful only for the fact that his father confided in him in the first place.

Releasing yet another sigh he dragged a hand over his face, hoping that this would be the final time he would have to read this document.

The fates were not with him.

"Never fear old man, the party has arrived to take you away from all of this that is causing you such grief".

The voice caused him to stir from his thoughts, only to shift to an entirely different distraction.

"Tommy" his voice almost strained in frustration.

"Come on Ollie, you look stressed mate. Come grab a bite with me and I can tell you all about my new hobby of a perfectly flexible flight attendant that just flew into town".

Good old Tommy, always the life of the party. Never in all the days of knowing him had he led him into anything good.

Tommy was his best friend from practically the time that they were in nappies, and while both of them got into their fair share of trouble separately, it was never more so than when they were together.

Both sons to billionaire parents, their teenage years were spent chasing the next thrill that came along, all the while knowing that they had their parents money to fall back onto when things got out of hand. Which they did, constantly.

Now they were grown ups, at least in the eyes of the law and according to their drivers licenses, both being twenty-seven years old. Oliver was working for his father's company, while Tommy had decided to come out from under his father wing and open up his own chain of nightclubs called Smash.

Having spent the majority of his time, money and youth at other peoples clubs, and knowing all the ins and outs of the scene, he thought he could use the inside knowledge to make a bit of profit. And he wasn't wrong.

The nightclubs where now the place to be on any night of the week, with lineups to get inside bordering ridiculous.

Neither of them had really grown up, but age had brought with it responsibly that even they could not evade forever.

"Tommy, some of us have to work. Not all of us have the luxury to wake up at noon and go to work, which is also known as boozing and womanizing in your case" his voice tired, but his face couldn't suppress the smirk that was steadily growing on his face.

"You speak of such strange things. Come I will teach you my ways, you will prosper in my world."

God he was grateful for Tommy some days. He always did manage to make him feel better, lighter.

Giving up on the document in front of him, promising himself he would look at it tomorrow, he stood up and circled his desk to stand in front of Tommy, who was already openly eye flirting with his secretary.

"Fine you idiot. And stop hitting on my secretary, I don't want to get rid of her and look for a new one again after what happened with Regina".

"Its not my fault she couldn't resist my charms over your brutish ways".

They had already stepped out of the Oliver's office and where in the hallway when Tommy noticed Felicity, Oliver not being quick enough to block her from his line of sight.

"Don't go there man," his voice was gravely and laced with warning.

Tommy only spared him a single glance before moving into her office, tapping on the glass of the door before waltzing in, leaving Oliver with no choice but to follow in after him.

He watched as her eyes never left the screen, completely absorbed in whatever she was doing and oblivious to the two intruders in her new office.

She was startled out of her thoughts when Tommy, who was never a fan of being ignored, especially by a member of the opposite sex, coughed into his hand.

Her clear blue eyes flew to Tommy, a blush creeping along her cheeks, and Oliver was happy to note that it only increased when her eyes landed on his form behind Tommy.

"Why have I never been told of this beauty that now works with you Ollie? What is your name sweet one?" Tommy said in his silkiest tones, trying to get her eyes and attention back to him.

She raised an eyebrow at that and Oliver felt a jolt of pride at not being one of the hundreds of girls that fell at Tommy's feet at his seductive tones and way with words.

"Felicity Smoak, and you are?" her voice was inquisitive, bordering on polite and not giving anything away.

"Tommy Merlyn, and I'm so very devastated that we haven't been introduced before Miss Smoak".

She answered with only a smile, the blush not subsiding.

"We were just on the way to go grab a bite to eat, I don't suppose you'd like to join us my fair lady?"

Tommy was putting out all the stops.

Felicity's gaze travelled behind him again, searching out Oliver's reaction to the invitation, but was saved from answering when she saw another person come into her office, again unannounced, and unceremoniously slap the great Tommy Merlyn upside the head.

"Tommy Merlyn you are not trying to flirt with my husbands new employee again are you? Because we better not have a repeat of that horrid Regina girl."

Felicity was torn between laughing at Oliver lifting his hands up in surrender and assuring her that he had absolutely nothing to do with the situation while Tommy stood there acting like a chastised child, and crouching in fear from the famous Moira Queen.

That was one intimidating woman.

From the soles of her Prada shoes to the tips of that perfectly groomed and styled hair she was a walking mannequin of grace, poise and class.

Felicity almost wanted to hide her own plain clothes out of the woman's view.

That was until the very same woman turned away from the now thoroughly berated men and looked directly at her.

"Felicity Smoak, it's a pleasure to finally meet you, I've heard so much about you from my husband".

Oh God. The queen was talking to her. Ironically she was the queen. Mrs. Queen to be precise. She's even dressed to be a queen. Do not ramble. Felicity Megan Smoak do not ramble in front of the queen. Mrs. Queen. Right. Oh God.

Only Oliver's raised eyebrow and Mrs. Queens slight upturn of her lips gave her an insight into everything that she had been thinking was actually said out loud.

She was getting pretty sick and tired of embarrassing herself in front of the Queen family members.

Well as far as she knew there was only one left to meet so she still had time to jump under a bus before meeting the youngest Queen.

Thank god for small favors.

**Happy reading everyone! I have no clue where i'm going with this (as always when I'm writing) but i love this AU and hope your enjoying it :) **

**Love to all :) your reviews are truly amazing :) **

**- Stace XOX**


	4. Parallel Conversations

**Disclaimer - I do not own Arrow. For the purpose of this story - Laurel and Sarah are not sisters.**

"Are you taking Laurel to the picnic thing on Sunday?"

After being thoroughly berated by Oliver's mother, they had left Felicity's office to lick their wounded egos at one of the city's most high-end bars. They both sat in the VIP lounge section nursing a glass of whiskey, and with their combined effort the bottle was now almost empty.

Now that was the million-dollar question. He had known Laurel almost as long as he had known Tommy. From friends, their relationship evolved into something more. He would always think that she was his first love but he could never shake the thought that there was something missing.

They were always a spark or flame away from being 'the great love'.

So they would share the happy times together and when things got too strained or hard they would go on a break. She would throw herself into her studies or work and he would land in a leggy stranger's bed or two in an alcohol induced mess.

Then the cycle would repeat a couple of weeks later, and by now he had lost count of the amount of times they had gone through it.

At the moment they were in their 'break' period, but it was almost at the point in the cycle were they would kiss and make up and all would be almost right in the world again.

"Nah, I think she's going with her dad anyway".

Tommy just shook his head at his friend. He was sick of watching Oliver go backwards and forwards with the brunette they had known all their lives.

They never actually got anywhere and he hated seeing Oliver fail to meet Laurel's unrealistic expectations time and time again. She always wanted him to work more, party less, grow into the image of him that she had in her head, never wanting him to be the man that he actually was.

Oliver had grown up a lot over the years of Tommy knowing him, they both had. Yes they could still party like the best of them but both had made a legitimate attempt at becoming who they were today.

So watching Oliver hit rock bottom after every break up between Laurel and his best friend hurt him.

There was no love lost between Laurel and himself, and both had never tried very hard to hide their feelings. While they usually tried to attempt a truce when Laurel was in a relationship with Oliver, it could still clearly be seen in the less than subtle gestures and offhanded comments shared between them.

Thank god for little Speedy.

The youngest Queen, who was like a sister to him, hated the woman with a blinding passion. Oliver had long ago given up on making them act civil towards each other and lately had just been trying to avoid leaving the two in the same room. Whether the room had people in it or not seemed to make little difference.

Speedy had a way with words and Laurel had a temper, watching them in the same vicinity, well that was just quality entertainment on any given night.

But back to the matter at hand, "That wouldn't have anything to do with a certain blonde that is newly employed with Queen Consolidated and would surely be at said Company Picnic would it?"

Aahhh. Oliver's strained face said everything that he needed to know. Much more than words could ever tell him, he had long ago learned to read his more often than not stoic best friend.

The Queen Consolidated Annual Picnic Day was open to all employees and their families, as well as any others that shared a stake in the company. It did well to boost employee moral, as well as raise money for all kinds of charities. Basically, it was a win-win situation.

Usually Oliver would hate such things, but over the last couple of years he had started seeing the importance of being seen by the employees at the head of the helm, as well as building links and connections with potential clients and business partners. So Tommy watched from the sidelines of the events as Oliver plastered on a fake smile and did what was needed.

That was until Tommy was too drunk too care, he couldn't tell for the life of him what had happened after three in the afternoon at last years event.

"Tommy, know perfectly well she's doing specific research for my father, even if I wanted to – which I don't – I couldn't go there. So no it has nothing to do with her."

"Yes because working for your father has stopped you before" his voice laced with sarcasm. "You don't fool me Queen. Or better yet, I think you're just trying to kid yourself. Well I got to tell you my friend, you're in for a rude awakening very soon".

His cryptic words left him in the dark as to what Tommy was referring to, but Oliver didn't want to ask. He didn't want to be having this conversation in general.

Yes he thought she was pretty, and yes he couldn't stop thinking about her but she was just a phase. He'll be right along onto the next girl that walks past in a week.

She wouldn't be the first and she wont be the last.

He ignored the nagging feeling he had that told him he was horribly wrong.

Across town another pair of friends were also talking about the QC Picnic.

Well, at least one of them was talking, the other, not so much.

"Felicity, I can't understand a word you're saying!" Sarah's frustration levels were reaching their peak and she wasn't sure how much longer she could take with the panicking blonde.

"Immdonnwannnagoo!" was the only response she got.

Fine then, have it your way, she would pull out the big guns.

"Felicity if you don't get your face out of that pillow and talk to me like a normal human being I will walk out of this apartment and call your mother. She can be the one to sort you and your problems out" her voice was stern as she tried not to laugh. She knew the threat was below the belt but, quite frankly, she was too tired and annoyed to care at this point.

Felicity's face, now removed from the pillow as she shot up straight on her bed, showed clear horror and mortification.

"You wouldn't," she whispered.

"I would and I could get your mother onto you. But I wont if you stop acting like a child and tell me why you don't want to go to this amazing picnic thing that you have to attend anyway!"

"Sarah, I don't want to embarrass myself. Again! Seriously I felt like being struck by lightening is a good preference every time I meet a Queen family member. My track record around them, well, 'not that great' is an understatement. I collided with Oliver Queen and almost fell over, was on my knees when I met Robert Queen, NOT like that Sarah! Stop looking so damn smug and get your mind out of the gutter! For the love of, argh! You know I don't have a love life let alone a sex life! WHY am I even friends with you?! And when I met Moira Queen, I called her the queen! Like the actual queen! God she probably thought I was calling her old!"

She took a breath before continuing, her rambling getting slower.

"So yes I don't want to go, because chances are Thea Queen will be there and I've pretty much reached my limit with embarrassment and that family. Therefore I plan to have an incurable twenty four hour flu that day". She sat on her bed with her arms and legs crossed as if that was the end of that discussion.

Oh how wrong she was.

"Felicity Smoak, you are going to that picnic. You are going to wear your new sky blue summer dress with your hair out. You are definitely not going to embarrass yourself" She lifted her index finger up when Felicity opened her mouth to interrupt "No, save it, you will not embarrass yourself because I'm coming with you and being your fairy godmother. To get you all ready to meet you prince charming, or in this case Queen. Because don't think I haven't noticed you being all dreamy over that man. Seriously Felicity, you know I know you better than that, what was the point of trying to hide that little titbit of information from me?"

"So I could avoid this conversation you horrible woman!" Felicity answered with a laugh, reaching behind her to grab a pillow with the intent of throwing it at the frustrating woman in front of her.

"Don't you dare throw that at me young lady! Or I will make you wear heels to this picnic! And there will be grass there!" her smile stretching impossibly wider on her face.

"You're horrid you know that? And that's what got me into this whole mess in the first place! You making me wear heels! That I nearly face planted in! In front of my future, well now he's kind of my current, boss!"

"And that just answers your question of why we're friends Felicity Megan Smoak, because I make excellent life decisions for you".

And with a final smirk on her face, she turned on her heel in the direction of their small kitchen, now intent on ice cream after dealing with Felicity.

She felt it was well deserved.

**Thank you Thank you Thank you to all those that reviewed. Thats why i tried to get this out faster :). If it wasn't obvious - I'm not the biggest fan of Laurel.**

**I was so keen for this weeks episode - until i found out that it was only next week that it came out - the devastation was actually quite disturbing :)**

**Anyway - Thanks for reading!**

**Love to all as always - stay safe - review!**

**XOXO - Stace**


	5. Awkward Encounters

**Disclaimer - I do not own Arrow. **

**My apologies for the wait - I'm the middle of mid semesters. They kill my brain. Anyway - Enjoy :) **

He stood there trying to inconspicuously find the colorful blonde that had been on his mind all week. Since he first met her if he was being truthful with himself.

As first impressions go, hers could be described as 'fell to her knees before him'.

Except she hadn't.

While in the very literal sense she had actually fallen to her knees, trying to pick up her scattered papers on the floor in those ridiculously high heels, when he had first met her it was so far from the truth in the figurative sense.

For she seemed completely unfazed by his presence in the last couple of weeks that he had know her.

While working in the same company as him.

On the same floor.

Across the hallway for God's sake.

And that made him encounter frustration that he had never know.

He was used to girls blushing and batting their eyes at him. Used to girls stumbling over themselves in the hopes of getting his attention, even if it was just for one night.

He knew this not in an arrogant way, he was well aware of the fact that it had nothing to do with him and everything to do with the money and the prestige that surrounded the Queen name, but that hadn't stopped him from using that advantage to whatever ends he needed.

But she was different.

It wasn't that she wasn't interested in him; it was just that she didn't look at him in _that _way.

And that was the crux of the matter - he wanted her to look at him in _that _way.

He was fascinated with everything she did. From the way her elegant fingers flew across her tablet, to the way she would bite her bottom lip when she was in deep concentration.

That small freckle that she had on the creamy expanse of her neck alone drove him mad a good ninety percent of the time in the office.

So there he stood, with clammy hands like a teenager on his first date, feeling as if his collar was too tight around his neck. All the while trying to find the object of his musings, in the hopes of just being able to strike a conversation with her.

Or to maybe receive one of her smiles that he had started to crave. The smile that lit up her whole face and made that dark and empty space in his chest just a little bit brighter.

"Depending on how you want to look at things, there may or may not be World War III underway at this very moment".

The sound of his best friends voice pulled him from his thoughts, his brows coming together from trying to figure out what Tommy was going on about. You never did know what to expect from him, and he had long ago given up on trying to predict what his spontaneous friend had running though his mind.

"I'm surprised your still sober to be honest Merlyn, didn't want a repeat of last year?" the smirk in place on his face as he turned towards him.

For the last year he had constantly teased the other man about 'what happened last year' but would never actually divulge the details to the other man. It gave him such satisfaction to see Tommy try and sift through his drunken memories of escapades that should never be spoken of, let alone carried out in the first place.

Tommy shook his head in amusement but soldiered on "Not yet brother, I'd rather be sober for the show down that's about to take place. I'm keen on remembering the results this time".

He placed his hand on Oliver's shoulder and turned him towards the direction of the Coffee House located in the middle of the park that the picnic was being held at.

"What am I looking at Tommy?" judging by the look on the man's face he knew that it couldn't be anything good. Glee almost radiated off him.

"Behind that Coffee House there are a set of restrooms. In a most interesting turn of events Laurel Lance entered the building. Followed by non other than Thea Queen, who obviously wasn't aware of what, or rather who, was inside already".

Oliver groaned. Nothing good could come of this and the best-case scenario would be that they have a heated exchange and one of them would storm off as far away as possible from the other.

Worst case scenario he'd be helping bury a body somewhere in the desert tomorrow, because lets face it, no female was yet to be a match to his darling little sister.

But it seemed like Tommy wasn't finished with the torture.

"So that was the good news".

Oliver's stare turned to focus on Tommy's face wondering, with a feeling of foreboding, how this could possibly get worse.

"Now here's the real problem. That tasty little thing that started working for your father recently? Know the one? Yep? Well she has also entered the building."

Oliver's stomach dropped, no doubt in his mind as to whom his best friend was referring to.

~:::O & F :::~

She felt like she had walked into a war zone.

Seriously, how she could feel the air actually weighing down on her from all the anger that radiated from the two women before her she would never know but it did.

Like a pile of bricks that had instantly fallen onto her head, preventing any and all movement, whether she wanted to escape or not.

And as always this was Sarah's fault. All of her worst life choices and decisions were always Sarah's fault. It was time to set that woman loose into the world. But no, maybe that was too cruel on the world. Surely mankind had enough to deal with, without the blonde hurricane that Sarah embodied.

The woman had made her down a drink for 'liquid courage' as her friend put it before they had even gotten to the park. This then resulted in her wanting to go to the bathroom as soon as she had gotten out of the cab.

Backtracking from her inner ramblings, she focused on the situation in front of her.

Two brunettes were fighting. But fighting was an understatement; it looked like they were about a hairs width away from an all out and very physical brawl.

Felicity would forever wonder where her sense of flight had gone in that moment, as not for an instant did the thought to inch towards the exit and make a hasty escape run through her mind.

She sized the two women up, taking into account their equally expensive clothes, perfect model-like bodies, the confidence that just seemed to emanate from them.

It was easy to feel intimidated by everything that they had going on.

Except of course the words of insult that were being hurtled from one to the other with masterful precision.

Felicity inched towards the smaller one, thinking that if the taller one did ponce, she could at least jump in the way and protect the younger one. Because at the rate that they were going, it looked to be inevitable.

"Who are you?"

The sharp words thrown at her direction from the taller one finally made Felicity conscious that they were aware of her presence. She took in the snare sent her way but choose to ignore it.

"Felicity Smoak, and don't look at me as if I walked into something private, this is a public bathroom. It says so on the door" her tone was defensive as she tried not to actually feel like she intruded.

She inched further and further between with them her back to the younger girl, trying to keep them separated, even if it was just to prevent them from being in each other's line of sight.

"We were having a conversation before you so rudely interrupted".

Felicity was very close to snapping back when the girl behind her stepped to the side and came to stand next to her.

"Laurel get off your fucking high horse. You're in a public bathroom causing a scene. As always. "

"I'm causing a scene? You're the imbecile that won't get it through your head that Oliver and I belong together. Leave us alone! He loves _me_! He wants _me_!"

"And as always it's all about Laurel Lance. Go figure. God I'm sick of you. For all the times that I've ever seen you or heard you speak it's always about you. Your job, your studies, your world. Never have you said you actually love him. Far be it for me to not see that you're a cold-hearted bitch. Leave him alone".

"Thea Queen he will be mine again, that I can assure you of".

Her words would have come out more threatening if the only blonde in the room hadn't let out a choked laugh.

"Holy . . . Your actually talking about Oliver? As in Oliver Queen? Oh my G . . Seriously? And they say males talk about females like a piece of meat. And like I know he's hot, I have eyes, those shoulders! And arms. Argh, not that you needed to know that because you both already know that, clearly you're his ex girlfriend and you're his sister and that sounds completely wrong and not the way that it should have sounded. But seriously? And you're his sister? Of course you are, anytime I'm in an uncomfortable situation one of his family members pops up. That also didn't come out right. Anyway, but seriously with the 'He will be mine'? Not that's it's any of my opinion so I'll just stop talking somewhere right about now."

She shut her eyes, hoping like a child that she could block out everything if she couldn't see anything.

It didn't work.

"Oliver and dad said you'd ramble, I just didn't think I'd like it so much".

And without another glance towards the stock-still and shocked leggy brunette, Thea grabbed Felicity's hand and dragged her out of the restroom.

**I hope you enjoyed! And I'm sorry for the wait, the next one will definitely not be that long. **

**Now i don't do this often but I'm suggesting you guys read a story - If you like Olicity goodness AU read "First Impressions, Second Glances" by AnAverageGirl15 - you will NOT be disappointed. Its amazeballs. **

**Now ****review and let me know what you think of this chapter:) **

**Stay safe! Love to all - Stace **


	6. Picnic Tents

**Disclaimer – I do not own Arrow. **

Being dragged by Thea Queen had definitely not been on the agenda today.

As much as she wanted to leave the bathroom and the tension filled air, this exit strategy was something to be desired. Not that she had a choice, she was pretty she when the young girl in front of her put her mind to something, she got what she wanted.

Felicity was dragged all the way to what looked to be a tent, but a tent was the understatement of the year. Of course the Queen's even did picnic's in style, nothing was ever half way done with these people.

This tent was all white drapes of mesh hanging from the ceilings support beams with soft throws and huge pillows resting on the ground. Children raced around the tent's poles and their laughter carried throughout the space bringing smiles to the faces of the adults at the refreshments table who watched over them. A refreshments table laden with all sorts of things that made Felicity's stomach turn from instant hunger at the sight.

But there was no time to stop and sate her hunger, still attached to the small brunette whose size made people, including Felicity, greatly underestimate her strength.

"Ollie! Put your dog on a leash once and for all! I'm so sick of her attitude!"

That made Felicity stop short.

For all intents and purposes this was not the way that she had wanted to meet Oliver Queen today. She wanted to be put together and graceful, a state that she was far from after the unplanned confrontation with his ex girlfriend of all people and his sister. To whom she was still currently attached.

Oliver turned slowly away from Tommy Merlyn towards his sister, and then let his eyes continue to wander until they reached her form, taking her in but also noticing their linked hands.

For a brief moment he thought of how her hand would fit with his and somehow he knew it would be perfect. He'd never had those kinds of thoughts before, and before he could start worrying where his brain was leading him he took the rest of her in.

She was absolutely beautiful. Her light blue dress made her sky blue eyes shine even brighter, the subtle flush on her cheeks from what appeared to be the result of being dragged by his too energetic sister caused her to glow from the inside out.

"Explain Thea" his voice sounded annoyed but Felicity could tell that it was just the annoyance of a brother who had endured countless temper tantrums from his little sister over the years but still loved her fiercely nonetheless.

"Laurel Lance" she spat the name as if that explained it all in Oliver's direction.

Felicity stood there wishing she were anywhere else, her gaze flitting over the people surrounding them.

"Thea, why can't the two of you be friends? Or at least get along for my sake. We're not even dating and you're still at each others throats!"

Tommy observed Felicity's expression at the news that Oliver and Laurel were not dating, however the lack of surprise on her face showed that she already knew that small bit of fact. As much as he wanted to know what had gone down with Thea and Laurel in the bathroom, he was more interested in taking in the blonde's reactions.

While a true playboy at heart, he knew that Felicity wasn't his to play with. Whether Oliver admitted it to himself or not he liked the girl and Tommy was protective of his best friend. The last thing Oliver needed was another self-absorbed gold digger trying to get his attention.

Laurel was enough.

But as he took this blonde in however, he got the distinct impression that all she wanted to do was to escape the presence of all three of them. She kept smoothing down her already perfect skirt and her hand constantly moved to her face to push up her glasses.

That was when the thought struck him - the poor girl was nervous. She was actually shy to be around any of them.

He had been known a lot of woman in his life, not being one to ever be in an actual relationship. It wasn't that he didn't want one per se, it was that he hadn't found a girl that could hold his attention for longer than a couple of weeks. They came at him from two different angles, either easy or hard to get, the latter of which he never really showed much interest in. It wasn't about the chase for him.

So seeing this girl, who was so clearly not from their regular circle by the innocence that radiated from her, made him take a step back. Maybe his best friend needed someone like this? Someone to calm him down after years of them chasing the next big thrill?

He decided to shelve that particular thought for later, promising himself to continue watching the colorful blonde in front of him.

Tuning back into the conversation, he wasn't surprised to hear Thea still talking about Lance.

"…and thank God Felicity stood up for herself to that little tramp."

At this Oliver looked to Felicity with a shake of his head.

"I'm sorry Felicity, you really shouldn't have witnessed any of that. Even though it's a fairly common occurrence in my world".

"Its fine, honestly…"

"Felicity! There you are! I've been looking all over for you."

The party of four turned in the direction of the voice, Felicity being not sure whether to be happy or afraid at hearing Sarah, as she never really knew what to expect from her.

As Sarah joined the group Felicity spoke up "Guys this is my best friend Sarah Quinten, Sarah this is Tommy Merlyn, Thea and Oliver Queen".

"It's a pleasure to meet you Miss Quinten" Tommy had decided to speak up for the first time since Thea and Felicity joined him and Oliver.

Felicity didn't miss his silky tone of voice directed at Sarah and looked towards Oliver to see his reaction of his best friend openly flirting with her best friend, however his eyes were already on her.

His slight smirk caused her own smile to form on her face and she couldn't tear her gaze away from his even if she tried.

Their friends voices where white noises in the background, and she didn't know how long they stood there, but the unmistakable voice of Moira Queen could break anyone out of their reverie.

She blushed crimson as her eyes darted away, trying to focus on the conversation at hand, it seemed that Mrs. Queen, accompanied by a well built man, was trying to convince Thea to come take photos for some newspaper.

Felicity threw Oliver's death stare at the young man next to Moira a questioning glance, but was answered without words as the mans hand curved around Thea's waist and molded her to his side.

Ah, so the big brother instinct was kicking in.

Mrs. Queen had ended up being even more stubborn out of the two Queen females, no doubt learning a few tricks into getting what she wanted from her daughter over the years.

Moira eventually led Thea and her boyfriend away with a nod in the general direction of her son and his friends, pausing only to smile at some of the other guests in the tent.

"Now that the kiddies have gone, how would you lovely ladies like to join Oliver and myself at my club tonight? You might have heard of it – Verdant – the best night club in town?" his voice was cheeky, but he stared the blonde down as if daring her to reject his invitation.

"I'm sure we can make an appearance, can't we Felicity?" her question directed at Felicity wasn't so much a question as it was a statement.

"Mmm" was all Felicity managed to get out in fear of going on a rambling tangent that she knew would only embarrass her further in front of Oliver.

As much as she hated clubbing she knew that she wouldn't get a choice in the matter. Sarah would drag her out of bed and force dress her if she had to, so there was not even a point of trying to win that battle.

Sarah's answering smile only confirmed her thoughts. She watched as Sarah turned back to the boys, her evil grin in place.

"So we'll see you tonight then, we expect to be seated VIP style Mr. Merlyn, we do know the owner after all and I've heard he's quite the gentleman".

And with that she turned on her heel, allowing her hair to flounce behind her like you would see on a cheesy hair shampoo commercial that should only happen in movies, grabbed Felicity's hand, and dragged her with the same force that Thea had used.

Felicity hoped that being tugged around like a rag doll wouldn't turn into a regular occurrence, although she knew her chances weren't high.

**I've decided this story is going to be fluff mania. If you want angsty drama I am writing another story called Bleeding Heart Of Mine – go read it and let me know what you think A lot of people are telling me it's a lot darker than what I usually write and that's incredibly true but I got the idea and just went with it. **

**Now this story – Felicity's parents are dead, but she still has a 'mother' it will be explained in the next chapter but Sarah was not being cruel in the second chapter I promise. **

**Please leave a review – Olicity goodness will be coming in the next chapter **

**Love to all as always– Stace XO**


	7. Sparks

**Disclaimer - I do not own Arrow.**

Walking into Verdant, all she could focus her attention on was not falling face first in the heels that Sarah had again made her wear.

They were without a doubt a sight to behold, all six inches of metal heel and diamond encrusted straps, but they just weren't compatible when a person wanted to be vertical in them. However when she had pointed out that bit of fact to Sarah her only response was a saucy grin and a "That _is_ the general idea".

However even in her deep concentration to walk, she was forced to admire her surroundings. Tommy hadn't been kidding when he said this was the best club in town.

As promised by the owner himself, they had been greeted by the bouncer at the entrance, bypassing the long line at the door and were then led by a scantily dressed waitress to the private booth reserved for their use alone.

Felicity took in the dark green and black interior of the club with interest. This was one high-class establishment and she could understand why people would wait for hours to get inside. From their vantage point at the table, they could see down to the bodies that swayed to the music below, lost to the rhythm that seemed to take over the whole space.

In typical Tommy fashion, on either side of the glittering DJ booth there were two silver cages in which two dancers grinded their way through the song playing.

She could see why people would use this place as a means to escape. The whole atmosphere compelled a person to let go of their problems and get lost in the feel of the air around them.

Almost as soon as they were seated another waitress had come over to take their drinks order, explaining that everything that they had throughout the course of the night was on the house. Felicity was shocked, but Sarah wasted no time in ordering two cosmopolitans and four vodka shots to get things started.

Her eyes unconsciously scanned the crowd for a certain handsome billionaire that she had been thinking about non-stop for weeks, and couldn't prevent the feeling of disappointment when her eyes could not find him.

As soon as the drinks were served Sarah made her down both shots, using the cosmos as chasers, and pulled her up to go dance leaving their belongings under the watchful eye of their waitress.

It didn't take long for the alcohol to sink in, not that she ever needed much to begin with, and soon she was lost amongst the music and restless bodies. Her and Sarah were instantly surrounded by what seemed to be a group of guys but they took no notice, each happy for now to just dance and have fun with each other.

Both failed to notice two different sets of eyes following their every move.

Oliver stood in Tommy's private office, waiting for the man himself to turn up, watching from behind the tinted glass the goings on of the club below.

She wasn't hard to spot.

He let his eyes roam over her form, taking in the startling emerald green skintight dress that hugged all the right curves of her body. It was a simple tank top dress, with the only adornment being the black zipper that started at her ample cleavage, that wasn't showing nearly enough for his liking, and reached down to the hem of her dress.

A zipper that made him wonder whether it was fake and just made for decoration or if he could just slide it down with his teeth to see the hidden treasure underneath. Oh how he would love to find that out.

And her heels.

He didn't think he'd ever get used to seeing her in heels, they always had an effect on him, but these ones were just made for sin.

They made her legs appear to be a mile long, and he couldn't tear his eyes away as he watched her toned muscles flex as she danced.

He noticed Tommy's presence before he felt the slap on his right shoulder, turning his gaze away from Felicity in the crowd to look at his best friend.

"All good to go. Now quit looking at her and do something, I need her distracted if I'm going to get better acquainted with the flaming blonde she's with".

Oliver looked down, following Tommy's gaze to the woman dancing next to Felicity. Her red dress was made to kill, and the accompanying black heels that she wore made Oliver think that Tommy might be biting off more than he could chew.

Tommy, like him, had never had any trouble with the ladies.

As ignorant as it sounded, their whole life they could pick and choose what they wanted, knowing they would get it, and this principle had applied to cars, houses, clubs, girls, everything that they set their sights on.

But this girl seemed different, she had a lot more attitude than the other girls that seemed to fall to Tommy's feet and Oliver wouldn't mind a front row seat at the battle of wills that would play out between the two.

They descended the stairs in time to see two, what appeared to be very drunk, men trying to persuade the girls to dance with them, and while the girls seemed to be adamantly declining the offer, the men just wouldn't take no for an answer.

It only took one nod to the bouncers from Tommy to get the men removed from the premises altogether, before siding up to Sarah himself and placing a protective hand on the arch of her lower back, and leading the four of them back to the booth reserved for the girls.

Oliver followed closely behind Felicity, and though he didn't touch her, she could feel the heat radiating off him onto her back. As they moved onto the couple of steps that led to the VIP section, his hand came up instinctively to glide along her waist to steady her, sending shock waves throughout her body that she had never felt before.

She contributed the reaction to the alcohol that she had already consumed.

"How do you stunning ladies like my club?"

Tommy's hand was yet to stray away from being wrapped around Sarah, who didn't seem to mind all the much as she sat down close to his side.

Feeling that Sarah wasn't going to answer, Felicity bit the bullet and spoke up, "Its certainly fancy, and fancy in a good way not in the bad way of course. So yes, its very nice, thank you for inviting us, and for all the free drinks!" she stopped her rambling as she felt Oliver start to draw patterns along her spine while she spoke.

And while all she could feel was his hand movements, he seemed completely unconscious of his own actions.

God she wished he would stop. How could a girl concentrate on anything when he was lighting a flame in her, and all with a simple touch of his hand?

She was scared to look at him, in fear of not being able to look away once she actually met his gaze, so she continued the conversation with Tommy, even agreeing with the couple next to her that more drinks were in order.

As the night wore on and an excessive amount of alcohol was consumed, she found the two handsome billionaires at their side incredibly easy to talk to. They were both open and down to earth, and put up with her incessant babbling in good humor.

It wasn't until Sarah had offered to go dancing again that she realized just how much she enjoyed their company.

Standing had proven to be a challenge, but with Oliver's help she was in the middle of the dance floor in no time.

They danced with his front to her back as she faced Sarah, but she couldn't concentrate on the other girl with Oliver's hands on her hips. His grip changing from firm to a slight caress every so often as he set their pace.

Licks of flames followed in his fingers wake and she pushed back into him boldly, only to be rewarded by his low growl in her ear, the vibration of which she felt on her back from his chest.

In less than a second she was turned around until she faced him, their faces only millimeters apart, one of her hands digging into his shoulder blade for support while the other stroked his bicep.

She didn't know how long they had swayed like that, it could have been only minutes but then it could have been days. Nothing seemed to matter.

But reality was a bitch and came knocking to wake them up out of the spell they were under.

She felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, a pocket that was very well placed next to her thigh, and it sent vibrations to parts of her that it really shouldn't have.

She couldn't help but let out a small chuckle at his groan when he put his head on her shoulder like a child and moved her to reach for the offending device. Pulling it out of his pocket he looked down to read it, only to let out a smile of his own at the message.

He led her away from the dancing bodies back to the booth, fully aware that for now at least the spell was broken, but not wanting to let her go just yet.

At the questioning tilt of her head he explained that the message was from Tommy.

"He's showing Sarah around his office" the grin on his face left no questions in her head as to 'how' Tommy was showing her his office.

He signaled to the waitress, asking for only water when Felicity declined anything stronger. She felt that she had had her fill for one night, already far from being just tipsy but still fully aware of her actions.

They seemed to talk about everything. He told her about growing up, his face lighting up when he talked about Thea. He told her about Tommy and their lifelong friendship. He had her in stitches from some of his less risqué tales of his college days.

She was so easy to talk to, she listened to him with a rapt attention that he wasn't used to. He had never really talked to his one-night stands for obvious reasons and he had never felt comfortable opening up with Laurel. Certainly nothing like he felt with Felicity, he felt like he could tell her anything.

"I am sorry for my family, I know meeting them has been crazy for you." He had wanted to apologize for a while now but there never seemed to be a good opportunity till now.

"Oh my God Oliver, no! Your family's great! Even though I embarrass myself in front of them more times than humanly possible. But seriously, I can see why you love them, especially Thea. She's definitely something." She couldn't help but smile as she thought of the younger Queen.

"And no ones family is perfect. My family's a complete eclectic mix of personalities, you should meet them! Not that you should meet my parents, because you don't have to, I mean you could if you wanted to but you don't have to. Anyway, my birth parents died when I was eleven, so I've been brought up by technically my aunt and uncle but I call them mom and dad, you know? And they are completely crazy. In the best way! Dad collects all sorts of gizmo's and gadgets, he's the one that got me into computers to begin with. And mum. That's one woman you don't want to get on the bad side of. She'll scold you until you feel like a five year old again and then hug you so tight you'll think that your in heaven. Even Sarah's scared of her."

Love shone through her eyes as she talked about her parents and for some particular reason he had a flashback of a girl with blonde hair standing in a cemetery breaking down in tears in the arms of an older lady. Surely she couldn't have been the same girl he had seen that day?

But he didn't have time to dwell on it, as Tommy and Sarah stepped back into the booth, Sarah plopping down right next to Felicity.

He watched them have a silent eye conversation before they excused themselves to go to the bathroom.

His eyes followed her until she disappeared amongst the drunken bodies, then turned to his best friend, not being able to contain at least one jab at the man.

"Back so soon man? Loosing your touch?"

His answer was a punch in the arm and a smug look thrown at him.

"We only just got started mate".

But, as unusual as it was, Tommy never expanded on the details.

Yes, Oliver thought, Tommy was definitely biting off more than he could chew with his girl.

But then again so was he.

He had never been so open with a girl. Had never felt like he did when he was around her. He couldn't really describe it, even to himself, but in a weird way when he was around her he felt as if he was exactly where he needed to be.

As if he was home.

**Thank you to all those that have reviewed/followed/favourited! **

**Now let me know you thoughts on this chapter :) **

**Love to all - Stace XO**


	8. Liquid Fire

**Disclaimer – I do not own Arrow. **

**And I had a feeling I'd need a happy to chapter to write after this week's episode. I was right. **

"Felicity we need to leave".

After stepping into the bathroom, Felicity had wasted no time in fishing for information on what happened in the office with Tommy. The last thing she expected Sarah to want is to leave the guys and the club altogether.

"What happened Sarah? Did he hurt you? Oh God did he force himself onto you? I can totally hack his trust fund away…!"

Sarah's shooing gesture stopped her ramble mid way.

"Oh my God Felicity! Of course not! Calm down. But if we don't leave I'm going to jump that man nine ways till Sunday. The things that man can do with his tongue! Argh. Anyway, the whole playing hard to get won't last long if I'm around him" Sarah's panicked voice startled Felicity.

Usually when Sarah wanted something or someone she went for it, consequences and public opinion be damned. Abstinence was something new for her.

"You really like him don't you?" Felicity asked quietly and Sarah felt like she was exposed in front of the other blond, the tough exterior that she showed to the rest of the world would always crumble away under her best friend's innocence and understanding.

"It feels different this time Lis. I don't really know how to explain it, just, you know, different?"

The use of her childhood nickname and Sarah's tone that formed the words in a question rather than a statement gave Felicity more understanding than the actual words she spoke. Tommy really was different for her, and for Sarah that was a big thing.

It wasn't that she spent her life going from one guy to another nonstop, but she had never really settled down, never been in a real, long and stable relationship. And it wasn't for the lack of men that wanted her. Sarah was one of those women that walked into a room and heads turned, her toned body and luscious blonde locks always attracted looks of want from males and jealousy from females.

She had just never really been into it all that much. She had fun and kept herself entertained until she lost interest, always the life of the party, while Felicity preferred to stay at home and watch marathons of old TV favourites with a pint of choc chip cookie dough ice cream.

"We'll go home then"

Sarah sent her a grateful look before squaring her shoulders and walking out of the bathroom, her game face on.

Felicity would have to be blind to not notice the way Tommy's face lit up when he first saw them returning, though he quickly put on his playboy mask as they came closer. She couldn't help but grin at how obvious both of them were, how similar.

She did, however, fail to notice Oliver orbiting towards her.

He couldn't help it. He just wanted to be as close to her as he could, as close as she would permit him to get, and when she in turn turned towards him, he felt elated. He allowed his hand to stray to her lower back, a place that belonged to him in the back of his mind.

This need for her was irrational, unexpected, but it was there all the same.

"Ladies! Care to dance?" Tommy's voice forced him to look away from Felicity, hoping that the girls would agree.

He was thoroughly disappointed however.

"Sorry boys, early start tomorrow, it is Monday after all" Sarah directed at Tommy.

Oliver pulled Felicity to the side, not wanting her to disappear just yet.

"I had a really good time tonight Felicity"

The way he said her name was sinful. Deliciously hot.

As if he was savouring the syllables on the tip of his tongue. And she wanted to know what other things he could say to make her toes curl in the heat of passion.

No one had ever said her name the way he did; and she had a feeling that no one ever would.

"So did I Oliver. I'll see you at work tomorrow?" she said uncertainly under his penetrating gaze.

"Yes you will, right across from your office, I'll be there".

He knew it wasn't fair, that he shouldn't play with her, but he couldn't help use whatever arsenal he had from his previous experience to make her want him just as much as he wanted her.

So he leant a little closer, his lips just grazing the lobe of her ear as he spoke.

"Do you have any idea what that glass between our offices does to me? It's both a curse and a blessing Felicity. I have watch you cross your legs in those bright heels you wear everyday," he whispered in her ear.

He was pleased with her stock-still posture; all her senses live as a wire, with all her attention and focus solely on him. She was overwhelmed by him. But he went further. He stuck out his tongue to lick a small path just below her ear, then pulled away a few centimetres and allowed his breath to wash over the spot. His cool breath floating over her overheated skin.

He felt rather then saw her knees buckle and he wrapped his arm around her middle to hold her to him.

"Oliver" she sighed as her arms dug into his shoulders for support.

God how he wanted to keep hearing her say his name. He wondered how many other ways he could make her say it. Whisper it. Scream it until she was hoarse.

But he used all his strength of willpower and pushed away a few more centimetres, not wanting to push her too far just yet. Before she was ready. Because he was more than ready, he wanted this, wanted her. And he wouldn't do anything to jeopardise it.

"Let me get you a cab" but he didn't release her from his grasp, only guided her towards the exit, knowing that Tommy and Sarah were following in their wake.

She followed him blindly, at this point she couldn't even think properly. How that man had rendered her fluid and speechless in less than a minute was incredible. A true work of art.

Thank god for his hands supporting her, she would have fallen in a puddle at his feet otherwise.

She welcomed the cool air from outside as it hit her face, bringing with it at least some sort of semblance to her thoughts.

She watched as Tommy and Sarah stepped out of the entrance, both sharing the same smiles on their faces, as if they were both privy to a secret the rest of the world could only hope to know. They probably were. She hadn't seen Sarah acting like a giddy teenager in a long time and was extremely happy for her. Sarah deserved it.

A cab was hailed shortly after, Oliver walking to the driver's side – once he was certain Felicity could accomplish standing on her own - to pay the fare while Tommy opened the door for the two girls.

After short good byes were said and heated and longing glances were exchanged, the girls were in the taxi speeding off towards the direction of Felicity's home.

Both felt a sense of loss, however neither finding the right words to explain the feeling of absence, either to each other or themselves.

The giddy look they shared made both of them aware that they were in the same boat. Falling hard and fast for the two most eligible bachelors of Starling City.

Yep. They were definitely in over their heads.

**Okay I know its short – but I needed this. I needed to write fluff after what happened in the episode. I liked Moira, she was tough and strong and yes she had an affair but everything she ever did (other than the affair) she did to protect her children and that took strength. Arghh. **

**The end of Sarah/Oliver? Honestly they should have never even begun. Just fingers crossed he doesn't run back to Laurel, which knowing my luck he will. **

**Anywayyy – review please let me know what scenes you want to see !**

**Love to all – Stace **


	9. Frustrating Walls

**Disclaimer – I do not own Arrow. **

**Two updates in one night to make up for the first being so short. And because all you guys are amazing with your reviews in all my stories. **

**This puppy of a chapter is dedicated to _obliviousfraser_ who got me back on track after my detractions :) thank you :) **

Felicity had always had the uncanny ability to block out everything and everyone around her to solely concentrate on the task at hand.

She had used the skill in high school, achieving the highest grades possible to earn a free ride into college because she _deserved_ it. And she had definitely used the skill when she was in college.

Rooming with Sarah had definitely proven to be a challenge but she had succeeded even beyond her own expectations. Not that she was being conceited, because she wasn't. She just worked damn hard and she knew it.

Being hired by Robert Queen himself had never been the plan however. The plan had been to start small and tediously work her way up until someday she was noticed for her genius amongst the masses. Maybe.

She was ambitious, yes, but she was also realistic. Things like that just didn't happen in the real world.

Except it did, to her of all people.

But at this current moment, as she sat in her extremely comfortable and new work chair, she couldn't for the life of her concentrate.

It wasn't because a certain billionaire and heir to one to the worlds biggest companies had plagued her thoughts. She refused to let her mind wonder to thoughts of him; she knew once she started that train of thought she wouldn't be able to stop.

It also helped that he was out of her line of sight, as he was in a meeting with his father all morning. She had thanked the heavens for that one. The looks between them this morning after what happened in the club last night were heated to say the least.

And her lack of concentration to her task wasn't because her mother had called early this morning, letting her know that her and her father would be visiting in two weeks time.

Her mother had said that it was because they just wanted to check on how she was doing and whether she liked her new job. But Felicity knew her mother, it was _never _that simple. She had tried not to dwell on it, as it was inevitable anyway. Like taxes and death.

She loved her mother dearly, but once that woman got an idea into her head she wouldn't stop. And Felicity had a nagging suspicion that her mother was on another one of her famous missions.

But no, she was distracted for a particularly different reason.

Robert Queen had hired her to do a specific job. To uncover any underhanded business dealings that were going on behind his back. So she was methodically working through every computer of every single one of the employees of Queen Consolidated. The process was tedious and time consuming and she honestly wondered why people weren't bright enough to _not _put private things on their work computer. Isn't that what home computers were for?

Not that home computers couldn't be hacked into, but surely common sense would stop you from storing files on your work computer that should not be seen by anyone?

Prior to today, all she had uncovered was some poorly hidden and highly distasteful pictures that showed a little bit too much insight into some of the less respectable fetishes of her colleagues from various photos and videos. That and a few too many of what would be scandalous affairs from emails.

But today she had come across something that she couldn't figure out, and that didn't happen very often.

While going over the next name on her list of Queen Consolidated employees, she had tried to access the correlating computer next to one of the names. When she met the resistance of a firewall she had backtracked and opened his file, graciously provided by Mr. Queen.

Donald Trent had been with QC for the past six years as an administrative clerk to one of the accounting department heads. He had no wife or children, had never taken a sick day in all his time in the company and had only ever taken one week a year off as holiday leave.

His file provided average feedback from his superiors, with him never underperforming, but also not by any means going above and beyond for the company. File wise he was a dead end.

So why was his computer firewalled externally to that of the QC security system? Especially to the point of being almost impossible to hack into?

She had gone back to her computer to try and hack her way in again, becoming increasingly frustrated when as soon as she coded into one of the firewalls, another one was behind it even more skillfully placed than the first.

This simple employee's computer was harder to get into than the CEO's very own operating system.

As the hours wore on her frustration levels increased to the point that she felt a migraine coming on.

She couldn't wrap her head around the 'why' of it. Surely if someone was dirty dealing behind Mr. Queens back it would be a higher up employee? A person with more access? More power?

So she was distracted by the mystery of it all. Distracted and highly frustrated.

Which is why when Mr. Robert Queen himself stepped into her office she snapped at him.

The sharp sounds of shoes, that probably cost more than her whole outfit combined, in front of her startled her out her musings as she stared up from the tablet in front of her.

"Don't you knock!?"

When she looked up, her features clouded in horror as she realised at whom she had just snapped at. She quickly tried to back pedal.

"I'm sorry! I was just so concentrated on this and I didn't see you and I get a bit 'in the zone' when I'm hacking. That's such an ugly word. Especially if something isn't working for me. And then you came in and startled me, which is my fault anyway, because again 'in the zone' and I'm sorry!"

"Miss Smoak" his voice was firm but kind, and she was grateful that it stopped the ramble that she thought would last forever.

"Firstly, I did knock, though you were clearly just otherwise occupied, no harm done. Secondly this isn't a bathroom, it's your office and it _is _made of glass so for the future and for both of our sakes least anyone else enter your room unannounced, please be more aware of your surroundings. We wouldn't want anyone else finding out about your little project." He waited for her to nod in acceptance and understanding before continuing.

"And thirdly, what has gotten you so frustrated?"

He really had hoped she wouldn't find anything. He knew that the very thought was a futile one but he had sincerely wanted to be proven wrong this one time.

"Mr. Donald Trent." After looking to see Mr. Queen's reaction at the name and receiving none she continued.

"He works as a clerk in accounting, has worked in the company for six years, on paper he is the poster boy for an average run of the mill employee. But his firewall, its almost impenetrable. I've spent hours on it! And I'm good! I know I am! Not that you need to know that, or you already know that or you wouldn't have hired me. But anyway, every single time I break down one wall there's a stronger one behind it. I just don't get it. Why does a simple clerk need more security firewalls than the CEO of the whole company? No offense. I'm sure your firewalls are fine. Which they are not because I could hack into them. But you already knew that."

She tried to focus back on the matter at hand and took a breath before she plowed on.

"So yes, I've been trying to access Mr. Trent all day. Well not access him. His computer, but I cant! I'm thinking that I'll probably need remote access to the hard drive?"

She posed it as a question, not so much directed to him, more like she was talking to herself wondering of the possibilities as they raced through her mind.

Her discovery worried Robert. Why would a simple clerk have a computer so tightly firewalled that even a girl with her skill set couldn't hack into it? What was he hiding? And why him of all people?

He studied the blonde in front of him. She was already deep in concentration, probably forgetting that he was even in the room. She worked hard and he appreciated it.

And good work should be rewarded.

"Miss Smoak, I think its time I showed you around Queen Consolidated. An excursion if you will."

She looked up at him in confusion, as if wondering where he was going with that statement.

"I do believe our first stop is the accounting department. Maybe we can even stop to have a look at Mr. Trent's computer on the way, I've heard it may need something fixed?" his voice was smooth but she caught the undertone of a hint.

A hint that she very well picked up on. She needed remote access and he would provide it.

For who could reject the CEO when he asked for access to their computer?

**Review :) **

**Stay safe! Love to all – Stace **


	10. Tricks Of The Trade

**Disclaimer - I do not own Arrow. **

As he stepped into the cubicle, with a trailing Felicity Smoak behind him, he realized he needn't have bothered trying to find an excuse to gain access to Trent's computer. For while the accounting department seemed to be buzzing around him, busy with its usually daily activities, the cubicle was thankfully empty.

He nudged Felicity into the vacant office chair, fully confident in her abilities to find any information that was needed from the device. His help would only hinder her progress.

To avoid attracting too much attention to him being in the middle of the accounting department, he sat in a neighboring empty cubicle while she worked, not wanting to leave her alone altogether just incase Trent did come back.

The girl did tend to ramble a bit too much, and while usually it was amusing, more often than not it also resulted in her over sharing information.

It wasn't that he didn't trust her, for some particular reason her felt like he _could _put his faith in her, but he didn't want her to accidentally let information slip. He hadn't know her for that long, and from what he had gathered at her first interview she could probably hold her own, but he didn't want to risk it. This was too important to him.

So he sat in the chair observing her as she worked away. Her hands flying across the keyboard at lightening speeds and her eyes scanning the information before her on the screen even quicker.

He could understand why his son was so taken with her.

From the blonde locks to her skinny physique, she looked just like Oliver's usual type. His heir was unfortunately predictable.

But she was also different. Without a doubt she was beautiful, but she didn't know it like all the other girls Oliver dated, didn't flaunt it as if it was her one and only redeeming quality.

This girl had brains but more importantly, to him at least, was her personality. Her quirkiness definitely added to her appeal, but what he found to be most fascinating was her ability to brighten up any room she walked into. He never missed the way Oliver's face would light up when she walked into a room, no matter how much his clueless son tried to hide it.

She was innocent but wasn't naïve enough to ignore the evils of the world.

But possibly the most important thing for him was that their money was one of her least concerns. She certainly knew about it, their wealth was hard to hide, but he didn't see the usual hunger for it that he saw in other people's eyes. She almost shied away from it all.

He was sick of watching the long line of gold diggers that preyed in their circles throwing themselves at his son.

His eyes travelled away from her form to the desk before her.

He was shocked at how impersonal it was.

In all his years in working in offices he had never seen a cubicle so bare, it was beyond the borders of strange, particularly with having the knowledge of Trent being in the company for over six years.

You could tell a lot about a person by looking at their workspace, and there weren't many different types of office set-ups.

You have the employees that covered their walls and desks with photos and memorabilia of friends and family, their hobbies or interests. They showcased their lives for the world to see, but also so that they could surround themselves with what they loved, even while at work. They were the people that worked to live.

Or you have those efficient workaholic types that have reminder notes everywhere, their workplaces being just that as they decorated it with nothing personal. A lot of them didn't have much personal items to decorate their space with. Files and paperwork would be either strewn all over the place or with a methodical precision; it didn't make much of a difference. These were the people that lived to work.

Of course you had the people in between, but all people generally leaned towards one category or the other.

But this cubicle was just bare. Nothing tacked onto the reminder board, the desk bare with the exception of the keyboard, mouse and three filing trays, mostly barren themselves.

He was just about to stand up to open the filing drawers under the workstation when a chilling voice halted his movements.

"What the hell do you think your doing?"

He looked up to the man that had spoken but his focus wasn't on him but a very shell-shocked Felicity who was currently gaping like a fish out of water as she looked up.

If the situation wasn't as serious as it was he would have laughed at the way she physically stopped herself from talking by covering her mouth with her hand. He decided this was a good a time as any to step in, hoping that she had already found what she needed, or at least gotten a hint at what needed to be done at a later stage.

"Mr. Trent I presume?"

The man's angry face turned towards him but quickly schooled his features when he realized just who was talking to him.

"Mr. Queen? Can I help you with something?" his voice wasn't angry, by Robert still caught an undertone that he didn't like.

Something just didn't sit right with him about this whole situation in general.

"I'm sorry to invade on your personal space Mr. Trent, we had Miss. Smoak in for an interview in IT and I was just checking her skills. I seemed to recall someone telling me there were issues with your computer. I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone and see how good she is while she fixes your computer".

"I don't recall anything with my computer Mr. Queen", his voice was edgy as he looked back down at Felicity and directed his next question at her "Did you find anything wrong Miss. Smoak?"

Robert Queen, like so many before him, had clearly underestimated one Felicity Megan Smoak. He watched as she turned to look at him, then with the biggest doe eyes looked up at Trent and giggled like a Catholic schoolgirl.

"Oh God, to be honest the first firewall I got to I was lost, QC's network is so much more sophisticated than anything I've worked with before! Seriously your security is amazing, back where I'm from the only thing people protected their computers with is passwords! All I can do is fix the hardware, give me wires and circuits any day, but this is all too technical for me. Not that I wouldn't love to learn! That's why I applied for this internship Mr. Queen, to learn. And of course my mother was so proud when I got the chance to interview. Not that you need to know this. Sorry Mr…um…yep, sorry, I don't know what is wrong with your computer. You will have to get someone from IT. Which by the looks of things I'll never be. I should probably stop talking now."

Robert Queen himself nearly fell for the innocent rambling blonde act. It seemed that she could lie well enough; she just had to ramble nervously while she did it.

He heaved a sigh of annoyance, his chest swelling in pride on the inside for the girl that had enough brains to not give up his secrets.

"Miss Smoak, I have to say that's a bit of a shame. I had such high hopes from your resume".

"Mr. Queen! Please! I need this job I really do, just give me one chance and I promise you wont regret it!" she pulled off the pleading voice spectacularly. He'd have to look into getting her a raise, and maybe employment at the Starling City Theatre.

"Fine Miss. Smoak, you may have this internship, I'm sure you know how much of a privilege this is and I won't have to tell you how hard you have to work to stay in Queen Consolidated" his voice stern as he channeled his inner CEO authority.

"Yes Mr. Queen, of course Mr. Queen".

"Good day Mr. Trent, thank you for the use of your computer".

And with that they left one baffled Donald Trent behind them, standing a meter away from his desk, clueless as to what had just happened.

They did not get a chance to talk privately until they were back on their level, away from the prying eyes and ears of the employees in the elevator.

"Oh my God! I can't believe I just did that! That was crazy! I'm running on so much adrenaline right now. I feel like I just robbed a bank. Or committed some kind of felony, except I didn't, I just hacked into his computer which belongs to you and you knew about it so I could probably get off on a technicality."

He watched her as she paced in front of his desk, too worked up to actually sit down, until she ran out of steam.

"Miss. Smoak, did you find anything interesting?" surely this trip hadn't been for nothing. He certainly learned a bit about Trent the man but his computer could lead to the evidence of what he was looking for, or at the very least have trails to something or someone else involved.

"Yes, yes I did. I mean I didn't, which begs the question as to why I didn't doesn't it?"

"That's a bit broad Miss. Smoak, you're going to have to be more specific. And a bit more concise maybe?"

"Felicity. Call me Felicity please."

"Felicity then, anything?"

She took a breath and slumped, rather in an unladylike fashion into his guest chair.

"Nothing. And not nothing like I couldn't get into it. There was just nothing on his computer. And not in the way that he scrubbed the computer clean or anything, because I'd be able to tell, but in a way that no actual data is ever stored on that computer. It's like the whole system is set up for all the data to go onto some external hard drive. Probably a portable one that he carries around with him. There are no work files, no personal files, nothing stored on that computer. If he keeps all his files on an external data drive it would explain his need for all the firewalls once the drive is connected to the computer, because it's only then that people, well me, that can hack into the drive. When it's plugged into one of the QC's mainframe computers."

She took a breath before continuing.

"So to put it plainly, anything that we probably want is on an external portable hard drive that he only plugs into the QC computer when he is at his desk. Hence all the firewalls on his computer, to prevent anyone trying to look inside said hard drive, again that someone would be me".

"Is there any way to break the firewalls?"

"I can try, it will take a while but." She sounded far away, as if she was already trying to process all the information that she had consumed that day and thinking of possibilities for the hack job ahead.

It amazed him how she could zone out completely when concentrating.

"Try Felicity. And continue looking into other employees also, if we found one strange instance, more likely there are more".

She nodded and stood up to leave, taking his words as a dismissal but was stopped by his voice before she reached the door.

"And thank you Felicity, I think you passed your _second_ interview for the Queen Consolidated IT department with flying colors, I'd definitely consider you for our next internship round".

She beamed at him in gratitude for the underlining praise, but played along all the same "Why thank you Mr. Queen. I'm sure I could learn a lot from the IT specialist's of Queen Consolidated".

She left after that, hearing his laughter ring out behind her.

Finally she didn't make a fool out of herself in front of him. She walked with her head held high, a grin that she couldn't hide away plastered on her face.

One minute she was walking down the hall towards her office, the next she was yanked into the dimly lit copy room, her back pressed into the cold, hard and now very closed door with one smirking and very pleased with himself Oliver Queen in front of her.

Not that she could ever complain about _that_.

Not for the first, and definitely not for the last, time she thought that that face should be illegal. That jaw structure. It just wasn't fair to all the other men of the world.

"Oliver".

Her face changed from beaming when she was walking down the office hallway, to shock at being yanked into the copy room, to beaming again when she realized it was him. His heart fluttered just a little bit at that.

"Felicity".

He watched in fascination as her eyes darkened just a bit when he said her name.

He decided to test the theory, repeating it again and allowing one of his hands to leave its place on her hip to travel up and back down slowly on her side.

He wasn't wrong, only this time her head moved back to rest on the door and her eyes became just a little bit more hooded.

"Oliver" she breathed.

His answering growl accompanied her hand as it moved to the back of his neck to scrape the soft hair she found there with her nails.

"I've missed you," he whispered as he let his nose skim the skin of her collarbone, taking her scent in.

"You saw me last night at the club. And this morning at work Oliver," her words said one thing but her smile told him a different story. She had missed him too.

"Have dinner with me. Tonight. I can take you anywhere you want to go, just name the place. Or we can do it at my house if you want?"

He didn't hide his eagerness and she appreciated that the most.

"How about you come to my place? I'll cook."

He scrunched his face "That's not a date Felicity. I don't want to bother you with anything".

"Mr. Queen, I want you" she paused as she moved her finger from the hollow of his neck down his chest slowly, her eyes never leaving his, "to come to my house" her other hand using her fingers to softly pull at his hair on the back of his skull "so that I can cook for you" she shifted her legs minutely, but it made their whole bodies align perfectly "that would be the perfect date, and that's the date I want".

This woman was killing him. Slowly but very surely and thoroughly killing him.

He placed his forehead on her shoulder, forcing himself to breathe properly, before looking back up to her again.

"What time do you want me there?" his voice was strained and he knew it, but he held onto his control for dear life.

"Say seven?"

"Seven's perfect".

**EXTRA long chapter - I expect reviews :) **

**Love to all - stay safe - Stace XXX**


	11. Questions Better Left Asked

**Disclaimer - I do not own Arrow. **

She should have known better.

She knew that her questions had never led her into anything good. Not that this _wasn't_ good, but oh my God. Come on!

There was only so much a girl could take.

_**~ Ten hours earlier – 12.01PM ~**_

Felicity was more than giddy as she danced around in her kitchen, all her thoughts completely and utterly consumed by one Oliver Queen.

She didn't know why but that man did things to make her feel like she had never felt before. She couldn't help but think of all the different possibilities of tonight.

In the distance she vaguely heard her phone ringing and ran to answer it, with a mixing spoon that she had been using to stir the sauce on the stove still in hand, before it went to voicemail.

The smile that graced her face at the name flashing on her screen threatened to split her face in two.

"Oliver" she sighed.

He was happy that there were no greetings. Hearing her say his name was better than a thousand hello's from her.

"Felicity" he let the smile on his face seep into his voice.

"Your still coming tonight right? Because I cooked pasta, I hope you like pasta; I have to say my cabonara may be the greatest thing you've ever tasted. But then again you've probably tasted five-star pasta's so maybe not…"

"Felicity" his slight tone of reluctance got her attention more than anything.

"You can't come tonight" it wasn't a question, but a statement.

He heard her let out a sad sigh and his heart swelled at the thought of her wanting to see him.

"Of'course I'm coming!" he was quick to reassure her.

"Then what's wrong?"

"Tommy. He found out that I'm having dinner at your place, and he knows Sarah lives with you and one thing led to another and he kind of invited himself along. I would completely understand if you don't want to do dinner now and I guess…"

But he was cut off before he could finish that particular train of thought.

He also had the fleeting thought that her rambles must be contagious, surely he had never rambled this much before? Or maybe it was just her. She made him nervous in a way that he had never experienced before.

"Don't Oliver, of 'course you both can come over, the more the merrier right? And Sarah hasn't stopped talking about Tommy so it's fine. Though probably don't tell him that. Oh God I'm a bad friend. Don't tell him that please? Because…"

But it was his turn to cut her off.

"Does that mean you talk about me to her?" His silky voice floated through the phone and she was glad he couldn't see the blush that was forcing its way down her face and onto her chest.

"Yes, I mean no…No…maybe a little? Just the usual things. I'm going to stop talking right now".

The sound of someone knocking on her front door provided a blessed distraction to whatever other ramble would have surely come out of her mouth.

"Hang on a sec Oliver, someone's at my door. Sarah probably lost her key again, that woman is hopeless and I…"

Her following words were swallowed from shock as she swung her door open, phone still firmly held between her shoulder and her ear, using one hand to open the door and the other to grip tighly onto the cooking spoon she was still holding.

"Wha..why? What?" she fumbled, for once at a loss for words.

Because before her stood a very handsome and grinning Oliver Queen, his hand now bringing down the phone that had, until recently, been held up to his ear.

She allowed her eyes to drift over his form, taking in his labeled jeans, grey shirt and black leather jacket. Oh God.

_Lickable. That's definitely one way to describe him_. But she pushed those thoughts away.

Looking down at her own clothing, she imagined the picture that she made, trying not to die from mortification. Her hair was thrown up in a messy bun that was barely being held together by an errant pen she had found, an MIT shirt that was about five years overdue to be thrown out, black yoga leggings, barefoot and no absolutely no trance of make up to be found on her face. That's just great.

He couldn't really be there could he?

So she did the most logical thing that she could think of.

She slowly closed the door, in the hopes that he would disappear and just be a figment of her overactive imagination. She watched as his face turned into the picture of confusion when he saw what she was doing. Once the door was fully closed, she took a deep breathe and opened it again.

Nope, still there.

He chuckled at that and she belatedly realized that she had said her thoughts out loud again.

She leaned her forehead onto the door jam with a sigh.

"What are you doing here Oliver, I wasn't expecting you for another six hours. I would have at least gotten dressed properly! Nobody should have to see me like this," she said as she vaguely gestured to herself.

He heard the insecurity in her voice and it scatched at his heart.

Stepping in closer to her, right into her personal space, he took her face between his hands, forcing her eyes to meet his so she knew that he meant his next words.

"You are completely out of your mind if you think you are not the sexiest and most beautiful woman I have ever seen Felicity Smoak".

She couldn't help herself. How else was a girl supposed to react to that? She threw herself into his arms, leaving him little time to catch her, but with him doing so all the same.

She sealed her lips to his, her hands on the lapels of his jacket forcing him inside. Her phone and mixing spoon long forgotten as it fell onto the tiled floor.

He in turn kicked the door closed behind him and proceeded to use his body to position her so that her back was pressed up against the front door.

She was the first to pull away, a soft smile on her face, "I do think you have a thing for doors Mr. Queen."

"Only when your between them and me Miss. Smoak."

The next forty-five minutes were spent on her couch.

It left her with swollen lips and him with the biggest grin she had seen yet on his face. Even if she did have to keep slapping his exploring hands away from certain parts of her body so that they both didn't get carried away.

He had left soon after, promising to bring along a well-behaved Tommy with him.

_**~ Four and a half hours earlier – 5.31PM ~**_

She stood in front of the mirror taking in her apprearance.

She hoped Oliver liked her dress. The navy blue halter dress hugged her curves, and she loved the way that it flowed around her legs when she walked.

She left her hair out after the afternoon she had just had. Oliver had taken her hair out of its confines and admitted to her how much her locks fascinated him. So she wore it out for him, letting it tumble down her back in an array of golden waves.

With one last glance in the mirror she tossed all her worries aside. Come what may.

She was starting to fall for Oliver Queen, God help her.

She knew she hadn't known him for that long, that these kinds of feelings were way too premature at this stage, but she couldn't help it. She didn't even know if she wanted to prevent it, but she definately knew there was no way to stop the feelings now.

As cliché as it sounded he made her feel alive. Sexy. Powerful. Things that she had certainly never felt before with any man.

She had always been the smart one. The rambling one. The quirky awkward girl.

This was something entirely new for her and she knew that if she didn't let go and allow herself to feel all that life was offering her, she would regret it. Even if she did get her heart broken in the process.

She took a deep breath and went to join Sarah in the kitchen to wait for the boys.

_**~ Three hours earlier – 7.01PM ~**_

The girls threw their heads back in laughter as the boys recounted a story from one of their wilder days.

"…and he streaked through the whole campus courtyard, only to meet Professor Whitemoore. A very female Professor. We didn't know whether to run out from behind the bushes and save his skinny pale behind or run in the opposite direction!"

Tommy's indignant response of "At least I got straight A's in her class from that day forward!" Was met with another roar as the girls had to wipe tears of laughter from their eyes.

"Oh God! Stop! Stop, I can't breathe! I can just imagine some old Professor hitting on you!" Sarah threw her head back, not being able to control her laughter.

She was amazed at how easily these two men could fit into her and Felicity's lives. Seamlessly.

She loved Felicity like a sister, had always been kind of protective of her throughout their college years and then later on in life, but she had no doubts when it came to Oliver Queen.

The way he looked at her best friend said it all. As if she was the one and only thing that shone in the room, a beacon calling him towards home.

No, she had no doubts about Oliver Queen.

Tommy on the other hand, how was she supposed to know whether she was special to him or if she was just another woman in his long line of conquests?

She wasn't unaware of the countless women of his past, and she definitely wasn't stupid enough to overlook that fact.

She knew he was interested in her, for some particular reason she had caught his attention, and she wanted to keep it that way.

Because she was certainly interested in him.

She hadn't felt like this in a very long time.

_**~ One hour earlier – 9.01PM ~**_

"Tell me something"

Felicity and Oliver were huddled up on the couch, with her leaning on his chest while he played with her fingers, warm and content in each other's arms.

They were more than happy to ignore the childish laugher of the two very grown adults in the kitchen making cookies.

Because at some point in the night, Tommy had stated that he could cook, at which Sarah had snorted in disbelief and said something along the lines of, "I bet you don't even know how to make cookies".

Challenge accepted apparently.

"Tell you what?"

"Anything Felicity, anything at all about yourself. Child dreams, likes, dislikes."

"I always wanted to become a firefighter, I know that's random for a girl, but I just always had this dream of driving around in a red truck and save people from burning buildings. It all seemed so very heroic. And those poles in the station certainly helped the appeal. Likes, lets see, I like chocolate though I'm definitely more of a savory person. My favorite color's teal, which is kind of a green when you think about it? Dislikes? Mmm, not a fan of kangaroos, honestly what kind of animal is that? Frankly they're creepy".

She halted her rambling, suddenly realizing that she had yet again gotten carried away.

"Your turn Mister to tell me something. What do you like? What's your favorite place?"

_Anywhere you are_, floated through his mind but it seemed to be too much of a cheesy answer to him. Though at hearing her talk about a pole in a firefighters station gave him an idea.

"Do you trust me?" His voice was soft and it washed over her like a cool breeze on a warm summers night.

"Yes," was all she managed to whisper before she was pulled to her feet.

Oliver turned, moving towards the kitchen, his hand still attached to Felicity's making her follow in his wake.

She couldn't _not_ laugh at the sigh that greeted her in the kitchen. Tommy and her best friend, after all their efforts shared, had matching grins on their faces while their clothes were covered in flour.

"We're going out" Oliver directed at the messy couple while still shaking his head in disbelief at their antics.

"What you don't want to try my cookie creations? I'm wounded man!" was Tommy's indignant response.

Oliver laughed but only shook his head again, mouthing something to Tommy, obviously explaining exactly where they were going but not wanting to tell her just yet. She was however thoroughly intrigued by Tommy's confused and questioning expression as he tilted his head to the side, though he said nothing.

Felicity didn't even try to begin deciphering the looks shared between the two men, only registering the slight nod of understanding from Tommy.

It only peaked her curiosity as to where Oliver was taking her.

_**~ Thirty minutes earlier – 9.31PM ~**_

"You're taking me to Verdant? This is you favorite place in Starling?" her voice thick with disbelief.

"No Felicity, just trust me".

And so she followed. Because she was way past the point of saying no to him and not following if he asked.

This man would be the death of her.

They bypassed the front entrance and he led them to the back of the club, using a swipe card to get into the back door.

But he didn't lead her into the club as she had expected, instead he guided her to a corridor that led away from the heart of the party to yet another door. This one with a security panel so technical it made her fingers itch to touch it.

This security system was way too high tech and state of the art to just be guarding a storage room.

She wasn't wrong.

Inside the door where stairs that led into some sort of basement area, and only when Oliver flipped the light switch did she realize just what she stepped into.

This was without a doubt the biggest man cave she had ever seen.

From the concrete walls, massive plasma TV mounted to the wall and training equipment set up, that admittedly took up the majority of the room, every inch of the place screamed 'male'.

But what drew the attention of her eyes the most were the two identical metal beams in the middle of the room that reached right up towards the rafted ceilings. They were the weirdest most random thing that she had ever seen but it seemed like the whole room was built around them.

As if they were the main feature of the room and she desperately wanted to know what they were there for.

"What are those?" she pointed at the beams, staring at them with awe, unable to draw her eyes away from them.

Curiosity killed the cat.

_**~ Present time – 10:01PM ~**_

She'll admit, she was the one who asked.

But he was the one to not only explain but also graciously provide a demonstration.

And now she was screwed. Not in the literal, physical, sense but in the mental one.

Because now that she had seen him work out on the, what she know knew to be named, the salmon ladder there was no going back.

The ripples of his back muscles as they strained with each pull up, the thin sheen of sweat that glistened on his skin, even the ease in which he did every action.

The view had feasted the beast inside.

Yep. She was screwed.

**I hope you liked! I had to get the salmon ladder in there somehow. **

**NOW – I do recommendations rarely but I stumbled across a video on YouTube for Olicity. Its called OLICITY HUMOR by M-Art Revenge. I cried from laughter. Honest to God tears. Honestly guy please have a look – you will not be disappointed. **

**Now tell me what you liked/disliked/the weather/anything! :) **

**Love to all – Stace XOX**


	12. Tables and Ladders

**Disclaimer - I do not own Arrow. **

**My sincere apologies for the wait - Uni has been killing me on top of work. I am just very sorry. **

He had been on this ladder hundreds, maybe even thousands of times. He knew every movement that had to be made, every angle that his body needed to form to hit each rung perfectly.

Ever since Tommy had opened the club and suggested he use the basement as his own personal escape, Oliver had been coming here to bask in the solitude that it provided. Usually to let off steam after a fight with Laurel or a hard day at the office, but sometimes he would come down into its depths just to get away from everything. Away from the responsibility placed on his shoulders for being the heir to the Queen name or away from the judgmental looks after his latest escapades with Tommy.

He had never brought anyone down here, and he was sure that Tommy had not breached his secret to anyone either, which explained the look of confusion on the other man's face back in the apartment.

So he wasn't entirely sure why he brought her down here, but when she had asked where his favorite place was his head suddenly filled up with images of her here. In his most private of places lounging on the sofa, watching the wall mounted plasma cuddled up into his side while trying to stop herself from falling asleep…

Reality was so much better.

He could feel her gaze burning through his skin as she watched him demonstrate the salmon ladder to her. What could she be thinking? More importantly, what did she think of him?

Oliver Queen was not one to be subconscious, nor shy, but under her heated and intense gaze he couldn't help it. He wanted her to like what she saw.

"Oliver".

Her throaty voice calling out his name almost made him miss a rung and fall as he felt all his muscles spasm involuntarily at the sound. She would surely be the death of him.

Only after he turned to look at her did he realize his mistake. Once their eyes locked there was no going back, his concentration was focused solely on her.

When she had asked him what the ladder did he wanted to only play with her a bit, tease her a little but not enough to go over the edge as he thought she wasn't ready to take that step with him yet.

The look in her eyes at that moment proved him very wrong.

He let go of the bar, falling to the concrete surface allowing his knees to expertly bend making his legs take the majority of the impact, and walked over to her until he was mere inches away from her.

He didn't want to push her, while he was more than ready for this, for her, she had to be sure. She was the one that had to take the final step.

"Felicity".

He let his breath wash over her face and he watched as she slowly closed her eyes, as if she was grounding herself.

When her eyes finally opened to meet his he saw a whole kaleidoscope of emotions in them. He loved that she was so open with him, never concealing any part of her. It was so different and refreshing to what he was used to, all the fake faces and smiles that he usually saw on woman.

She was like his breath of fresh air after being stranded in a desert, a ray of hope that he desperately wanted to reach for.

She studied his face, hoping to see something there that would make her trust him implicitly, make her believe she wasn't just another woman in the long list he was compiling. The look of panic that washed over his face when she drew away from him made her mind up for her.

She took yet another step back, not knowing where her sudden braveness was coming from but channeling it all the same, reaching with one hand for the strap of her dress, pushing it down one of her shoulders. She never broke eye contact with him as she mirrored the action on her other side.

She took another step back, some of the nervousness that had been lost in the haze of heat after watching him work out now seeping back into her mind as he stood as still as a statue watching every single one of her movements with a hungry stare.

"I'm going to need help with the zipper" she breathed out, hoping he would get the message and wake up from whatever trance like state he was currently in.

She didn't know how it happened, but one second she was standing before him, and the next her front was pressed into a concrete pillar with the full hard length of Oliver Queen molded to her back, his breath washing over her skin as his nose ever so gently trailed a path from her shoulder to her neck.

He was driving her crazy.

The cool of the metal drastically contrasted with the heat radiating from him and it burned her whole body from the inside out.

He was driving her crazy and he hadn't even touched her with his hands yet.

His chuckle yet again made her conscious of the fact that she had spoken her thoughts out loud yet again, and she felt the blush work its way down her face and onto her chest.

"We'll get to the hands I promise," he whispered in her ear.

And this was one promise he wasn't going to break.

She felt so good under him, warm and soft and just perfect. Her scent drove him mad at the best of times, but now as he pressed her into the column he couldn't help but savor this moment, breathe her in, torture himself a bit more before he was at the point of no return. The point where things like 'savoring' and 'taking his time' flew out the window, only to be replaced with thoughts like 'now' and, more life altering ones such as 'mine'.

He stepped back to allow room for her to turn around, only to invade her personal space once again.

Once she faced him he was lost.

Her eyes held an intensity and heat that he had never received before; either that or he had just never cared to look for it in the past.

He lifted his hands up, placing his fingertips on her shoulders, tracing patterns all the way down her arms, moving to her sides until they reached their final destination of the curve of her backside. With one single movement he hoisted her up into the air, forcing her legs to wrap instinctively around his back while her hands dug into his shoulders for balance and leverage.

His eyes never left hers as he walked away from the pillar and carried her to his office desk, using one hand to throw everything off while setting her down with the other. He loved the way that while her legs untangled from behind his back, her arms firmly held their hold on him.

He looked down at her, taking her in from the roots of her blonde hair to the black heels on her feet and he couldn't quite understand what he had done right in his life to deserve her.

When he had first seen her in the lobby of his family's company he would never have been able to guess what she would come to mean to him, but now as she sat here in front of him, all innocence and want wrapped up in an irresistible package he couldn't imagine his life without her.

"Oliver".

How she could say only his name, but say so much at the same time, he would never know, but as she breathed it out in her low voice he knew there was no going back.

He was hers for as long as she would want him, for as long as she would have him. It was the first time in his life that he felt like he didn't have a say in the matter.

With Laurel it was more of a habit, a sense of familiarity that could only be established after years of the same pattern. It wasn't that he belonged to her, he was just so used to her that it made things easier for him to be with her.

Being with Felicity was easy in a completely different way. Being in the same room with her made all the tension that he had been feeling drain out of his body. One smile from her could make all his problems seem minute.

In his mind she was sunshine, warm and bright and comforting, washing over him and consuming him.

Oh yes, he was more than ready for this, but he had to make sure she was.

"Felicity, are you sure about this? Because once I start there's no going back, I wont want to let you go sweetheart," he cupped her cheek as he spoke the words, desperately trying to make her understand that he was absolutely serious.

Her hand reached out to cup his cheek, nails gently grazing the stubble she found there. She never let her gaze waver from his.

"As long as you promise to never let go".

**I am so very excited for tomorrows episode! I feel like it could go either way with Oliver and Felicity/Laurel - the writers are leaving breadcrumbs for both and its driving me insane! :) **

**Stay safe everyone! Stace XO**


	13. Absolution

**Disclaimer – I do not own Arrow. I can't even tell you how sorry I am about the wait. I HATE making you guys wait this long – UNI AND WORK IS KILLING ME. **

**Anyway, I know I said that this story was going to be rainbows and sunshine and no hurt. Maybe not so much in this chapter. Stay away kiddies please.**

Damon Cole had never been a man that was noticed.

In all his forty-seven years he had gotten used to being in the shadows of life. He did not cut an impressive figure in a crowd; his looks did nothing for people to easily recognize or remember him. He was of average height, average weight, average everything to be frank. And by now he was used to it, it made it easier to blend in.

To be overlooked in the masses of people that were fighting each other just to get noticed.

What a lot of people failed to see was the genius inside, the brilliant brain underneath the plain exterior of the man.

For him, the best thing in life was to go to work, do his job, and come home to his loving family. Nothing less, nothing more.

He wasn't a man of ambition, while like any man he wanted a life of luxury, he was happy on settling for the simple pleasures in life. And his life turned out to be just that. He had a wife and two beautiful baby girls, and they would do what any average family would do on the weekends; picnics, camping, trips to see the extended family.

There was never anything out of the ordinary for them and he reveled in that fact, loved the lack of change over time.

Some might say that his life was boring, he would just tell them that it had been planned out perfectly for him.

He had graduated top of his class with ease at MIT and had come into Queen Consolidated straight out of college, as it was the first offer he had received. His lack of interest in rising in the ranks resulted in him, now twenty five years later, being at the bottom of the food chain in his workplace.

He was respected well enough, but people generally didn't notice him.

That was usually their biggest mistake.

Because Damon Cole saw things that he shouldn't, heard things that others wouldn't be privy to knowing. All because they underestimated and overlooked him.

The secrets that he knew about some of his colleagues could easily get them fired, and on the rare occasion have them thrown in jail for a week or two.

But he had never been a gossip or a tattletale, he didn't like to get involved, what people did with their own time was none of his business.

But he still kept watch of the goings on in the building, like a night guard of a tower, for Queen Consolidated had become his second home. That many years couldn't go by without becoming attached to the space, and he felt like it was his duty to protect its walls. Both from inside and in.

So when a couple of months ago he had uncovered a scheme to launder money from QC he looked into it further until he had all the facts, all the names of the players in this new war. He had a detailed web of parties involved until nothing was hidden from him in the cyber world.

Looking back now, he knew that he may be a genius but even geniuses tend to make errors that will shape their lives forever.

His first mistake was to confront the man responsible for the scheme.

A day later his wife died in a car crash that was presumed an accident. Presumed because the police department could never find any solid proof that would lead them to foul play.

He knew better.

Coincidences in life happened, he was aware of that, but this was no coincidence. His wife's death had not been a coincidence but a murder. A murder that even he, with all his genius abilities, could not prove.

He had fallen into depression for months, consumed by the need for retribution. And so he plotted and he schemed for ways to bring the people responsible to justice. To make them pay.

In his haze of anger and hurt he had made his second mistake. He had confided in one of his colleagues and friends as he needed a second pair of eyes and ears looking out for him.

How was he to know that no one was to be trusted? As it turned out the man that he had told worked for one of the bosses of the operation. Even though it turned out to be a small pawn, the man was a player nonetheless.

Mere days after telling his secret his two girls where kidnapped, only to be found dead in an abandoned warehouse not two days later.

And now there was nothing left to live for, everybody that he had ever loved was gone. Everything had changed.

He was ready to leave this earth, ready to join them in the heaven that he knew they would reach.

But not before leaving a trail for a certain blonde to find.

Yes he knew all about Felicity Smoak and what she was actually doing in Queen Consolidated for their CEO. She was good, to be sure, never leaving any traces of her technical signatures behind, only a shadow of a presence in the systems. And he could put two and two together as it had only started right after she started working in Queen Consolidated.

That and he had been present for her interview; he had seen what she could do.

He just hoped that life would be kinder to her than it had been to him.

Robert Queen would protect her, he was a smart man.

So with a final click of his mouse he unleashed the trail of breadcrumbs to her system that would lead straight to the disease that was festering in Queen Consolidated.

He pushed away from his desktop and opened the drawer on his right, removing a .22 caliber.

"I'll be with you soon my precious girls," he whispered as he looked up to the heavens.

He drew the gun up to his temple and switched off the safety.

Pulling the trigger felt like a relief from this wretched life.

**Please don't hate me. Pretty please. And you have my word the next chapter will be up in AT MOST two days and it will be worlds longer.**

**Regarding the suicide. I don't think its fair to try and apply logic to a person's actions that has suffered so much trauma. I know he should have gone to the authorities, etc but I went with this tragic plot wave length and I'm sorry if anyone is truly offended. I am in no way condoning suicide. **

**- Love to all – please stay safe - Stace **


	14. Light Bulb Moments

**Disclaimer - I do not own Arrow.**

**1. I had my last mid semester this morning!**

**2. As soon as i came home i made myself finish this story - there will be two more chapters after this (that will be posted everyday) and thats it!**

Felicity had always considered herself to be smart. Genius level smart.

She didn't believe in chance or luck as she had always depended on her brains and her own sheer will power to get anywhere she needed to in life.

And she had worked damn hard to achieve everything she had.

Yes, she could admit that it was a total twist of fate in how she had gotten her job at Queen Consolidated but that wasn't luck, that was destiny, and she believed them two be two very mutually exclusive concepts.

Working for Queen Consolidated was her destiny.

She even hoped in her heart that Oliver Queen was her destiny.

But luck? That had never been a factor for her. She believed herself to be wiser than to put her faith into such a fickle thing.

And that was why when she sat in front of her computer after hours of following the communications networks of the men and women involved in the corruption underway at Queen Consolidated she couldn't believe her luck.

Someone, and she had no idea who, had given her a thread that once pulled crumbled the whole castle to the ground.

When she had first stumbled upon the data sitting on her server she almost overlooked it amongst all the other files she was compiling in her plight to uncover the hidden secrets of QC for Robert Queen.

Almost.

But once she opened and scanned the information there was no going back, things like this once seen cannot be unseen. And so she sifted through every single piece of information, sorted through hundreds of employees, followed countless paths.

She was shocked at what she found. How far this scheme had rooted itself into the heart of the company, all the people that were involved and how long this had been going on for, right under the nose of every other employee in the building.

She did have to admit; the scheme was brilliant in its simplicity and how thoroughly well thought out it was. How much dedication it took.

Twelve years ago a young accountant had started in the firm and proceeded to use every resource of Queen Consolidated to plant himself in the heart of the financial operations, learn the whole system inside and out. He learned all the pathways the money was flowing in and out of the business and used the knowledge he had to filter parts of it into his own trusted accounts.

As he climbed higher up the ranks the stakes grew, as did his access to all of Queen Consolidated's funds. From day to day monies to charity donations, everything went through him. And the amounts that left Queen Consolidated where never the same as the ones that reached their destination, always a fraction smaller. Never anything too conspicuous but a difference all the same.

Small leaks of money had turned into giant floods.

Over the twelve years that that man worked for QC, Felicity calculated around twenty million dollars worth of differences were lost in transactions.

And the scheme ran deep. As the amounts grew over time, so did the amount of people involved. From clerks to department heads, the disease inside Queen Consolidated festered. She guessed that the people that were on her list of people involved that she could no longer find on the employee register where now indisposed. People that had either come to close to the truth or had been a part of it and wanted out. They clearly never got the chance.

She sat in her office in awe of everything in front of her for over an hour. Just trying to comprehend the information and wrap her head around it.

She turned in her chair away from her computer monitor to look out at the view in her office to gather her thoughts. She would need her wits about her when she reported this discovery to Mr. Queen. It was what she was hired for after all.

And then other thoughts plagued her mind. What would she do now that she had found what he was looking for? Would she still have a job at Queen Consolidated? Surely he could put her in the IT department after what she had done? Or would she have to apply and interview again?

Shaking her head she pushed those thoughts aside. This was bigger than her, on an epic scale of huge compared to her miniscule problems.

She turned her chair back around, locked up her computer and stood up from her chair.

Using all the strength she possessed, she walked with a determined gait to her employer's office trying to figure out the best way to express what she had found.

However as she knocked on the door of the office and heard the resounding 'come in' from the other side she realized no approach was necessary.

Moira Queen was sitting on the guest couch in her husband's office looking towards her in frustration, thought it confused Felicity as to why.

"I'm so sorry to interrupt! I'll come back another time, it is rather urgent so if you could let me know when you were free that would…"

"Felicity". Moira Queen's strong voice cut her off and halted her movements as she slowly backed out of the office.

"Do come in, please."

Felicity nodded and moved a step closer to the chair that Mr. Queen was gesturing for her to sit down on.

"You've found something". It was a question but rather a statement that came from him.

All she could do was nod her head.

"Good, because I received this late this morning".

He slid a piece of paper across his desk towards her. Her hand was far from steady as she reached out for it.

Scanning across it she felt all sorts of emotions run through her, none of which being anywhere close to good.

_**I have left a certain blonde a trail to follow, a sort of breadcrumb if you will. I hope she will help you uncover the cancer that is growing stronger everyday in Queen Consolidated, and that you in turn will destroy it. **_

_**I wish your family more happiness than what mine has unrightfully received. **_

_**D.C. **_

So this was from were the information had come from, or rather who. As she put the puzzle pieces together in her head her eyes strayed back to the last line of the letter.

"D.C?" she whispered.

"Damon Cole. One of our I.T. department managers. Who was also found dead in his home from suicide last night", his voice was grave.

Felicity's hand flew to her mouth from the news to muffle the chocked sob that was threatening to escape. She sprung to her feet and started to pace the floor in front of his desk.

"NO! He left information on my computer for me to find! And I found it, I found everyone involved Mr. Queen thanks to him…I couldn't have…if he hadn't…I…", but she couldn't continue any longer.

This was all too much to take in one day. From discovering a multi million-dollar scheme to finding out the man that helped you uncover Queen Consolidated's secrets was now dead, even if she hadn't known him. It was all too much.

Moira choose the moment too speak up. And Felicity now understood why she had been frustrated when her conversation with Robert was interrupted.

"Felicity, I know this is hard but you have to let us know everything that you found. All the involved parties so that we can take care of this once and for all. This cannot continue but we need time to sort everything out. Can you tell us what information you have?" her voice was soft but persistent.

While she felt sorry for the blonde girl in front of her this couldn't continue to happen. There were certain people that needed to be brought to justice and it needed to happen soon.

"Who is the main man responsible for all of this Felicity?" Robert voice vibrated through the room.

"Peter Scott".

"Son of a … Tell me everything".

And she did. She told him everything that she had uncovered, from when it had started to who had been involved throughout the years. Anything to help get justice to the man that died getting information to her.

Her voice was hoarse when she finished talking.

She told herself she wouldn't break down. The couple in front of her where very intimidating in their own right, but these were also Oliver's _parents_. She forced herself to numb it all out.

Not until Moira's arm circled her shoulders did she realize she was still standing. She turned her gaze to look at the older woman and nearly broke down from the understanding in the eyes that met hers.

"Thank you Felicity".

"Yes, thank you. And I can't tell you how much I have appreciated how discreet you have been about this whole thing. It has helped me tremendously and I will make sure these men pay for what they have done to my company and the people in it."

Felicity could only nod her head, too chocked up to actually get anything else out, grateful for the arm that was still around her, anchoring her.

Oliver stepping into his fathers office without knocking as per usual but halted at the scene that greeted him. His mother had an arm wrapped around an obviously distressed Felicity and the picture was oddly familiar.

And then it hit him like a pile of bricks. A new understating that crashed into him almost threatening to unbalance everything he had ever known.

The cemetery all those years ago, the blonde with the golden hair that he had not had a chance to come up to. The one that looked like she was going to crumble under all the pain she was enduring at that point in time, while being held up by an older lady.

How had he forgotten her? How did he let her slip between his fingers all those many years ago?

"Oliver".

His fathers voice brought him back to the matter at hand.

"Excellent timing, I would have needed to fill you in on what's about to happen with the company anyway".

Robert Queen watched as his son gravitated towards the young troubled blond in the room and the way that she curled into his shoulder as if seeking his warmth and protection.

There had to be something said about destiny. He never would have thought that the bright and flustered girl that he had met in the lobby of his building would have such an impact on his life. His company. His family.

**3. THE FINALE - I legitimately had to put the TV on pause straight after the 'I love you scene' - Like i went into the kitchen and hyperventilated for about 10 ****minutes - i WISH i was kidding. Seriously. **

**4. Felicity and all the Olicity fans got punked. I can't believe he didn't tell her before hand what he was planning to do - thats just cruel. Yes they may not be ready to be in an actual relationship and thats fine its all part of the slow burn and it was all part of a plan (which i totally get) - but come on - do NOT hurt her like that. Give her warning before she gets her heart shattered. **

**5. The finale gave me an amazing idea for a story that i'm so excited about. Once this story is finished of course :) **

**LOve to ALL - Stace XOX**


	15. Conquests And Conquering

**Disclaimer - I do not own Arrow. **

Oliver Queen's birthday had always been kind of a big deal.

In his childhood years the parties where created to be every child's fantasy, ranging from his parents hiring an actual circus to perform just for him and all his friends to a real life Disneyland created in his very back yard.

As he grew up and the fantasies changed so did the parties.

His late teens where filled with memorable parties that included private jets and planned flights to Ibiza or St. Tropez. Or one less memorable birthday night that had somehow resulted in Tommy and him waking up in a hotel in Amsterdam both lacking in knowledge as to how this particular adventure came about.

Of 'course there was always alcohol and of course there were girls. How could there not be for the two heirs of Starling's two biggest companies?

But as he grew older, and he would argue wiser, the parties reduced in scale.

But that said very little as Felicity stepped into Starling's grand ballroom on the arm of said birthday boy.

Her eyes threatened to bulge right out of her eye sockets as she took in all the grandeur and extravagance around her. From the winding staircase with its plush red carpet to the cream and gold accents on the walls she almost didn't know which way to look, not wanting to miss a single detail.

"Fancy", she all but whispered in awe as she took in her surroundings but Oliver couldn't take his eyes off the woman that he was lucky enough to have by his side.

She was one of the only women he had ever met that didn't consider his money to be a deciding factor in their relationship. Half of the time she didn't even seem aware of it, and only in moments like this did she get reminded of the truth of just how rich he really was.

He loved her. Plain and simple.

From her genuine eyes to the way she would smile up at him in wonder and innocence. He loved everything about her, the blush that spread across her cheeks when she caught him looking at her, all of it.

As she stepped, or was rather dragged by a chuckling Oliver, further into the main ballroom she couldn't help but smooth her hand over her dress, hoping that everything was sitting in the right place. Surrounded by all these rich and beautiful people definitely made her more self-conscience. She had never belonged in this world and she didn't know whether she would ever be able to fit in.

Pushing the thoughts to the back of her mind she looked up at Oliver, her mind in turn remembering him picking her up from her apartment that night. How his eyes had darkened as they roamed over her form. He had once told her that he loved seeing her in green and she had taken the comment to heart. The tight strapless bodice, while making it hard to breathe in, did wonders for her cleavage she knew, and she loved the flowing effect of the skirt with every one of her movements.

His whispered; _"Do I get to unwrap my present now?"_ was imprinted on her brain and she couldn't help but be impatient for the moment he was able to fulfill all the promises his tone had implied with that question.

It had been several weeks since the money-laundering scheme had been uncovered in Queen Consolidated and with each day the pull towards him had only gotten stronger.

His father was almost finished in his plan to weed out all involved parties and she had now been transferred to the IT department, though in a much better position then she had originally applied for all those fateful months ago. She did however have to argue with Oliver until she was blue in the face as to why she couldn't have an even better position in the company. She had worked hard to get where she was and she refused to allow people to think she gotten her job on any other merit other than her own. Sleeping with the boss's son to get her position was not something she wanted to be known for.

She missed the gleam of pride and acceptance at her demands that came from Robert Queen who was privy to the conversation, or rather argument, which had transpired in his office.

And so now she stood with Oliver Queen, the birthday boy, in the most beautiful room she had ever been in as he talked to his friends that surrounded him.

Moira Queen watched her only son from across the room, his grin clearly visible even from this distance, and happiness seemed to radiate from him as he kept a firm grip on Felicity's hip to keep her by his side. As if Felicity was even able to leave him, Moira could see exactly how smitten the other woman was with her son.

The young girl was quite the change to her son's usual conquests, and she knew about far too many for her liking. She shuddered at the memory of Laurel, never being a fan of the snide woman.

From a distance she watched as Felicity put her hand on Oliver's forearm, which made him instantly take his eyes off his friend that he was currently talking to and looked down at her, pulling his arm further around her waist and into him. She whispered something in his ear and Moira observed as he reluctantly let her go, Felicity matching his hesitation as she stepped away from him and walked away.

From across the room a flash of color caught her eye and she was none too surprised to see Laurel Lance in a shockingly red dress with a split on one side revealing a slither of leg that was bordering inappropriate but not quite.

She observed the woman as she made her way over to Oliver, casually leaning into him and placing her hand on the same forearm that Felicity's had been on only moments ago. Moira didn't miss the smile on Oliver's face that was far from genuine. It was the fake playboy smile that she had seen on his face on countless occasions with countless girls and she was proud of him in that moment, hoping beyond hope that he was finally seeing the woman for what she truly was.

She had never approved of the woman but had never outwardly objected to him dating her, always having full confidence that her only son could make his own decisions and mistakes.

Moira Queen, if it wasn't above her upbringing, would have laughed out loud at the less than subtle way that Oliver moved away from Laurel's advances, causing the woman's face to shape into that of agitation, only to be masked away moments later as she stormed away from him.

She moved her gaze to John Diggle, their family's head of security, tilting her head to him, wordlessly requesting that he follow Miss Lance and make sure that no other scene was made throughout the night. His subtle nod ensured her that it would be done and she moved closer to her son, wanting to get a chance to talk to him with the absence of Felicity and to make sure that he was enjoying his night thus far.

~:::O&F:::~

John Diggle had seen a lot in his life.

From his three tours in Afghanistan to working for the Queen's for the majority of his civilian life he had had seen his fair share of fighting, both with guns and with words. So by now he had learned to read a situation and was smart enough to realize when a collision was about to happen.

And happen it did, right before his eyes in slow motion.

Felicity Smoak was vacating the bathroom as an enraged Laurel Lance reached for the door handle.

And while he could see Miss. Smoak was trying to hold her ground in an attempt to make the other woman think she wasn't intimidated, Diggle wasn't fooled.

"Who the hell do you think you are walking into me? Watch where you're going you blonde haired bimbo! I know your head might be a little inflated because you think you've got a Queen now but let me tell you something! You don't have him! You're a phase that'll be over very quickly. He'll get bored as always, actually quicker considering how much you have to offer. He will come back to me. He _always_ comes back to me".

He watched as Lance started off screaming her speech and ended it with a vindictive whisper that oddly reminded him of a hissing snake.

Transferring his eyes to the blonde that had yet to say anything, he watched as she in front of his very eyes pulled herself together, determination swelling up in her blue orbs.

"I know very well who you are Laurel, and honestly you can say anything you want about me, I don't care, but don't you dare talk about Oliver as if he is nothing more than a trophy or your own little lap dog! He's a wonderful man which you would have noticed if you had removed the dollar signs from your eyes for a moment!"

He could sense her loosing steam so he signaled for one of the security men at the front entrance and stepped into the two women's personal space.

"Ladies," he gave a single nod in Miss. Smoak's direction and turned to Lance, partially blocking the blonde from the now infuriated brunette's gaze.

"Miss. Lance, I've been asked to escort you from the premises," he said as he used his arm to motion to the door.

If she hadn't looked like she was about to blow out steam before she certainly did now.

"How…How dare you! Do you know who I am? I will have your job for this! Oliver! Call Oliver right now! This is absurd…"

Felicity watched from around Mr. Diggle's back as the woman was physically escorted out the door, her arms flailing about in a futile attempt to get back into the entrance hallway.

Diggle turned around, taking in the much shorter blonde as she smoothed over her already flawless skirt.

"I'll never really fit into this world will I? People will always wonder why someone like him," she waved her hands around to their surroundings, "is with someone like me," motioning to herself.

He had a feeling that her question was more directed at herself rather than to him but he felt the need to answer it anyway.

"That's why he wants _you_. Because amongst all this," he copied her hand movements from earlier gesturing to their surroundings, "You're the only thing that's real for him".

She looked up at him then with her big doe eyes and he couldn't help but to feel a wave of protectiveness wash over him.

"And beside's, if that's what he has to choose from," he said pointing outside in the direction that Laurel had been dragged to, "Then you're not really the worst option to choose," his grin giving away the fact that he was joking.

That earned him a toothy smile in response.

He watched as she pulled herself together again, squaring her shoulders and looking up at him.

"Now Miss. Smoak, I do believe you have a party to finish attending and a birthday boy to entertain," he said as he offered her his arm.

She grasped his offered elbow but tugged on it before she let him lead her back inside, forcing him to look back down at her.

"Thank you, for everything, for all of what you said".

He only offered her a secretive smile in response as he continued to lead her back into the main ballroom.

**1. My computer crashed and i lost EVERYTHING (including already finished/non uploaded chapters and stories) - GRR**

**2. I got a new laptop!**

**3. I had to rewrite this chapter and it turned out completely different from the first time round. **

**4. Ebay WILL be the death of me. **

**5. Your reviews are amazing - each and every one - i can't thank you all enough. Seriously. Just theres no words to describe what they mean to me so THANK YOU! **

**- Stay Safe - LOVE TO ALL - Stace XO**


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